Fallen Through
by Callista Miralni
Summary: Nothing is ever as it seems, as Li Syaoran learned the hard way. As one dark chapter closes, so yet another, even darker one begins. Part One; Developing SS, ET. Not your typical 'Outcast Sakura' story, I can assure you that. -EDITED-
1. The Kaijuu

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Will you please review my fics?

Anyway, this is my fourth fic (none of my others are finished due to lack of inspiration), and this is a fic that revolves around the song, 'Fallen Through', by Skye Sweetnam. All the chapters are really short because they're told from different POVs and as I mentioned review to Greenleaf Blossom (I just love her story, Before I Knew You!) I can't combine chapters because they don't flow together. So please, bear with my short chapters but I plan on making this a _really long_ fic.

* * *

Misunderstood: The Kaijuu

Who cares about an outcast? Nobody, that's who.

You have nothing at all.

There is no one to help you when you fall, there is no one to listen to your fears, there is no one who calls himself your friend.

You have nothing.

But, what happens when someone notices you?

They follow you wherever you go.

How do you react?

Will you accept them or turn them away?

At first you are unsure, but you must make your decision quick.

Choose wisely for it will affect you for life.

It happened to me once.

It's still happening now.

My name is Kinomoto Sakura.

This is my story.


	2. The Perfect Girl

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Back by popular demand! Yeah, I wish.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Or 'Fallen Through'. You people just love to torture me.

* * *

Misunderstood: The Perfect Girl

Myself. That's who I am.

Being popular is no piece of cake.

You always have to retain a stereotype and must always conform yourself to the trends of the world.

But I am popular in a different way.

I have no stereotype and I follow the trends I want to.

But then, I notice someone.

Someone alone, always alone.

She has no friends or anyone special.

She is invisible and cares little about the world.

But why?

Why is she like that?

Why is she alone?

Why does she have nobody?

I am breaking an unsaid rule: to avoid the kaijuu, as she is called.

She is called the kaijuu because she has no friends.

My name is Daidouji Tomoyo.

This is my story.


	3. The Biggest Thing on Campus

Fallen Through

By: ME! The one, the only Callista Miralni!

Disclaimer: I don't anything but the plot. Got it?

* * *

Misunderstood: The Biggest Thing on Campus

Whispers.

Everywhere I go, whispers.

Whispers about my looks, whispers about my grades, whispers about everything about me.

But then, I walk into an empty room, with one person in it.

There are no whispers about me.

In fact, there isn't a whisper at all.

Who is this girl, who silently reads a book in my presence?

How is it she doesn't turn red at the sight of me?

How come she is silent?

She ignores me, the girl hiding in the shadows.

But when she moves into the light, I am stunned.

It's the kaijuu, whom I've never met or seen.

There are rumors about her, but now I wonder if they are true.

My name is Li Syaoran.

This is my story.


	4. Outcast Turned Popular

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: You're stupid if you don't know what's supposed to go here. I don't own anything.

* * *

Misunderstood: Outcast Turned Popular

The rain is my metaphor.

Unpredictable.

Moody.

A blessing.

A curse.

They call me an outcast.

A fraud.

But what do they know?

They know absolutely nothing about me.

All they know are lies.

But I have a friend.

An influential friend who refused to believe the lies.

I guess I'm lucky.

No one dares to speak ill about me and many people like me as a friend.

But she is alone.

I know her pain.

I know the rumors.

The kaijuu.

The stuff they say about her is horrible.

The way how she just doesn't deny them makes most think they are true.

I know her pain.

I feel her pain.

My name is Hiiragizawa Eriol.

This is my story.


	5. Explanation and The Top of Everything

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

* * *

-Misunderstood: Explanation-

The previous chapters are not your typical 'Outcast Sakura' stories. This is the story of a fifteen year old girl whose whole life has been spent in the shadows. There are some like her that were lucky enough to be brought into the light of companionship. There are some who refuses to believe the stories and risk their reputation to help someone lost in the dark.

She is an outcast, he is the biggest thing. She is the perfect girl, he is an outcast turned popular. Four very different lifestyles cross in this unusual story.

-Callista Miralni

* * *

-Chapter Six-  
-Misunderstood: The Top of Everything-  
-Sakura-

Clever. Intelligent. Bright. Cheerful. Mischievous. Daring. Courageous. Loyal.

Totally correct yet somehow incorrect.

I am at the top of everything, but no one notices. That's fine with me; I'm not an attention seeker. I'm not perfect like Daidouji, who is also at the top of everything. I'm not dating the star of soccer, Li, also at the top of everything. I'm not lucky like Hiiragizawa, who turned popular just this year because someone saved him.

We are at the top of everything.

But in the eyes of the students, I'm at the bottom of everything.

It's all because of the rumors.

Stupid rumors; they ruined almost everything.

You wanna hear a few? Here, a fun list:

I'm doing drugs. (What the hell? I haven't even come near any illicit substance.)

I'm an orphan and homeless. (Seriously guys? Haven't you checked the student directory?)

My parents hate me. (Right. Because I brought pictures of my loving family to school in the second grade instead of my actual parents on "bring your parents to school day.")

My okaa-san committed suicide because she hated me. (And these people have gone to school with me for _how_ long? They know my mother died of some strange disease akin to tuberculosis.)

My otou-san is almost always away from home because I'm the cause of okaa-san's death. (No. My father's a renowned archaeologist. _Everyone_ knows he's out on digs.)

My onii-chan calls me a kaijuu because I'm insufferable and rude. (It's called sibling love damn it!)

Apparently I also suffer from extreme depression, mental instability, and anger management issues.

That's the one rumor that holds more truth than lie.

But it's still blown _way_ out of proportion.

And yet, no one believes me. Who wouldn't? I'm the kaijuu.

The student body is stupid too. Did you notice that some of the rumors contradict each other?

How thick can someone get?

I long to take revenge but I stop myself.

_Revenge gains nothing, ends nothing, and affects everything._

So I wait. Waiting for the time when someone decides to change their snotty attitude and see the truth.

I seriously doubt that's ever gonna happen.

You just wait and see. I'll be a famous singer or a technology genius billionaire like Kelly Clarkson or Bill Gates. I'll have power and influence. Then they'll remember me and begin to say I was their best friend in High School. I'll denounce every single idiot who says that and what will happen to them then?

Ahh... but you make the mistake of doubting me.

_Expect the unexpected._

* * *

-The second day of school since winter break-  
-Tuesday Morning-

The crowded hallways of Seijuu Preparatory School always disgusted me. People closing in on you, treating you like a poster on the wall.

In this world, I've learned people just don't care.

A boy in my own class ran into me, knocking me into the lockers.

"Some people. We gotta tell the janitors to pick up the trash." His friend joked as they shoved past me into Mihira-sensei's English classroom.

Shooting their backs a smoldering glare, I continued onward to chemistry. Another body shoved me into the lockers but before I could tell him off, the boy righted me quickly before running off yelling "Sorry 'bout that!" over his shoulder. I recognized him; after all who wouldn't? But it was the realization of _who_ it was that kept my feet glued to the ground.

Li Syaoran.

* * *

-Tomoyo-

"Honey, where did you get that? It's divine!" Watanabe Mika gushed.

I smiled and held out my wrist. "My mom got it for me in Venice."

The girls in my Algebra II class congregated around my desk, eagerly examining me so they could reproduce my so-called "look."

"Breathing room guys." Yanagisawa Naoko reminded, shooting me a covert smile.

Another girl eyed the bracelet warily. "Aren't charm bracelets like, _so_ last year Tomoyo-chan?"

I shrugged and picked up my pencil. "So? It was a gift. I have the right to wear a gift don't I Ruka-chan?"

Immediately, a thousand different voices clamored to reassure my assumption.

"Of course Tomoyo-chan!"

"How thoughtful of you to actually _use_ what's given to you!"

"God, I can't even remember the last time I did that."

"You think my boyfriend would be mad if I wore something my ex gave me?"

"He shouldn't, after all, it's just a gift."

Nomura-sensei barged in the door, slamming it shut as he entered.

"Take your seats!"

* * *

-Eriol-

I exited the classroom quietly, gently shoving my way through the throngs of students that blocked the hallways.

Someone shoved me into the lockers, flipping me off and swearing at me as he passed but I paid him no heed. A few of my classmates came up to me and voiced their concern but I ignored them, smiled, and proceeded to my locker.

How fake.

They only protect me because I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol, best friend to Li Syaoran.

Best friend to Li Syaoran.

And believe me, _everyone_ wants to be his friend.

Syaoran has everything going for him. He's rich, intelligent, athletic, musically inclined, and has a promised job for him in his family's publishing company after college. Not only that, but he has a great personality and -dare I say it- looks to match his winning background.

But I'm grateful for all Syaoran's done for me. Without him, I would be the guy who was shoved into the lockers, glasses askew, and a crowd of students laughing at his misfortune.

He saved me from drowning.

And I could only hope that in the future, I could do the same for someone else.

* * *

-Syaoran-  
-Afterschool-  
-Soccer Practice-

Eriol kicked the ball my way and I passed it to Yamato Riku before jogging over to my friend.

"I heard you helped the kaijuu out today." He said, taking a drink from my water bottle.

Snatching my drink back, I asked, "Who?"

Sapphire blue glinted, taking on a gleam I didn't like. "Kinomoto Sakura-san, the outcast of outcasts, the junior misfit, the-"

"-Ice bitch!" Riku yelled as he ran by.

Eriol shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "You get the picture."

I tried to think of who Eriol was talking about. Still coming up with an empty face. In fact, I don't even remember _seeing_ anyone who would likely _be _the kaijuu today.

"Uteda Hikari said you helped her up after you shoved her in the hall. Quite a scandal." Eriol supplied, the sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

It clicked. "That was her? I didn't even know who I ran into."

The whistle summoned us back to practice. Groaning simultaneously, we shared a weary glance before rejoining the team out onto the field.

* * *

-The Next Day-

The doors of Seijuu were wide open and I walked into the building, rubbing my hands together in a feeble attempt to warm them up from the crisp mid January winter air.

"Li-kun, could you help me with my algebra?"

"Hey Li! Soccer game soon right!"

"Heads up Li!"

"Li-san, the student council needs your input as the junior representative on…"

"Will you go out with me Li-kun?"

"Li-kun, I need…"

"Li, your socce-"

"Li-san, the o-"

Li.

Li.

LI.

I grinned despite the headache the crowd was giving me. So many demands, not enough ears to listen to it all attentively.

"Li-san, Oyamada-sensei would like to talk to you about your chemistry grade."

I recognized the bell-like voice even though I didn't talk to her much.

"Daidouji-san, how are you?"

Amethyst-blue looked at me and smiled. "Fine. Yourself Li-san?"

The crowds dispersed, leaving to branch out into the hallways. We wove in and out of the gathered groups, keeping light conversation as Daidouji came with me to Oyamada's room.

"Hey! I've been looking for you. I've been trying to return your CD for ages Syaoran."

I grinned at the speaker. My best friend Hiiragizawa Eriol.

Daidouji, just as polite as I heard about her, also greeted Eriol by name and asked him a few polite questions. He answered her queries easily and asked the same of her.

"Oof! I'm really sorry about that Miss!" Daidouji said as she bumped into someone when we tried to edge past a particularly large group in the middle of the hallway.

The girl looked at us (_her eyes were green… my favorite color…)_ but just as quickly as she noticed her intruders, she averted her eyes and turned her attention back to her locker. I recognized her but I could not place her name or where I had first seen her.

"It's nothing." She muttered in a low voice.

Still yelling apologies even after we passed her, Daidouji turned to us with worried eyes.

"I hope I didn't offend her." She whispered, trailing off.

Leaving us at the chem room door, the girl ran off, presumably to talk to the student council officers yelling her name down the hallway. Eriol turned to me with a knowing grin.

"You do realize who that was right?"

"Who what was?" I asked blankly, hesitating at the door.

His grin became wider. "The girl Daidouji-san bumped into. It was the same girl you ran over yesterday."

"Oh." I said half-heartedly. "That's nice."

Eriol didn't budge. Then, the meaning of his words came to me.

"You mean that's the kaijuu?" I half-yelled, half-whispered in disbelief.

"You're blocking my way. Move please."

My blood turned cold. I didn't know the speaker but gut intuition told me exactly who it was.

Oh no… oh no… oh no… please don't be…

Vivid green glared at me. "Move. You're blocking the door and I need to get in my classroom."

Something inside me snapped. "No need to be a bitch about it." I said coldly as I stepped aside to let her pass.

The kaijuu gave me another withering glance before she shut the chem room door behind her.

I looked back at Eriol in disbelief, prepared to say something about what a prick she was, but Eriol beat me.

"That's Kinomoto Sakura, number four student in Seijuu Preparatory High School. Congratulations, you've just had an encounter with the kaijuu." Eriol said as he patted me on the shoulder with a wide grin.

I stared at the shut door and eyed her silhouette through the frosted glass window.

"Really…"

She's not everything I thought she would be.

* * *

-Sakura-

That little prick.

Huh. I heard plenty of rumors about him but I never quite believed them.

As a victim of rumors myself, I learned not to believe much of anything anymore.

_"Do as I say little kaijuu. You're nothing but a filthy whore right Sakura-chan? A filthy whore for my pathetic brother."_

"Damn it Kaorin. Stay outta my head." I mumbled to myself.

Ignoring Oyamada-sensei's lecture, I started doodling on a piece of notebook paper in an effort to distract me from the strong memories.

"Kinomoto."

The sharp voice of my chemistry teacher startled me. I looked up, expecting to be lectured again on class attentiveness when he motioned me forward to his desk at the front of the room.

I heard my classmates' sniggers but I ignored them, holding my head high as I made my way to the front from my back row seat.

"Mizuki-sensei called for you. She says she needs to see you in her office immediately." Oyamada-sensei said in a low whisper, handing me a written pass.

Grateful for his discretion, I nodded and went back to my seat to pick up my belongings. A girl tried to trip me as I walked by but I nimbly avoided her foot and swung my foot around to connect with her shin. She let out a howl of pain, a satisfying reward for the trouble she tried to cause me.

Oyamada-sensei twitched but said nothing as I sauntered out the classroom and up the stairs from the basement to the main floor.

The office door loomed before me, taunting me with memories.

_"Sakura-chan... how could you be so selfish?"_

I closed my eyes and raised my fist to knock on the door.

Am I still selfish Kaorin?

Is it selfish to strive for the best in everything?

Is it selfish to want to love?

Is it selfish to seek help when I know I need it?

I will prove you wrong Kaorin.

I will rise above the restrictions _you_ set for me.

Because I am everything you could never be.

And never will.

* * *

OMG! That's one, two, three, four, FIVE REVIEWS! Special thanks to:

Greenleaf Blossom: For giving me the longest review in my life and for being the first to review! My special friend asked me a lot of questions, which is good, and I promise you that all your questions will be answered soon. I'm glad you think that this story's different from others, that's the way I intended it to be. Sakura is supposed to be a 'normal girl', there seems to be nothing special about her yet. I need your awesome feedback!

Mary33: I'm glad you think that this story's has you sucked in! Please, keep reading! Thanks for commenting on the beginning, I was beginning to wonder if I had started the story out okay.

kaze-mononoke-nedge: Do you really think I have a good writing style? Aww... thanks so much! It means a lot to me. I promise I'll update regularly.

Ilay: I'm glad you find this story unique. Please, keep reading!

Peaceful Angel: OMG! My first reviewer ever has returned! Thanks for reviewing and continuing to read my fics! I need your awesome feedback! I'm still waiting until you put up a fic so I can read it!

FlowerLover: Thanks for the review! Here's the chapter you wanted!

That's all for reviews. Thanks so much to all who reviewed! It makes me have a positive outlook on art homework...oh well, it's a CCS colored pencil drawing anyway.

EDIT: January 16, 2009


	6. The Meaning of Class

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

I feel so special! Happy day!

Special thanks to:

**Greenleaf Blossom**: Domo arigatou gozaimasu to you for reviewing! I'll tell you that Tomoyo and Syaoran ARE NOT DATING!!! ST fics aren't my favorite in the world either because Sakura always ends up depressed and kills herself. Anyway, thanks for the compliment too. To answer your previous question of who will 'save Sakura', I think you'll be pleased with the result. I'm trying to keep this fic realistic so magic isn't used in this fic, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I dedicate this chapter to **Greenleaf Blossom**, for reviewing everytime I post a chapter. Thanks a lot and update your fic soon!

**EDIT: JANUARY 16, 2009**

* * *

-Chapter Seven-  
-Misunderstood: The Meaning of Class-  
-Tomoyo-

Smart. Beautiful. Stunning. Kind. Caring. Courageous. Strong. Loyal.

Of course, this would be me, Daidouji Tomoyo.

At lunch today, Mihara Chiharu, one of my good friends, asked, "What's the meaning of class?"

My friends and I stared at her as if Chiharu-chan had gone insane. "Nani?" we all gasped.

"Chiharu-chan, class is a group of students in the same year." Sasaki Rika stated, fiddling with the straw of her latest diet drink.

"It's a way of grouping people." Yanagisawa Naoko offered over her Suzuki Koji novel.

"It's your fashion sense." Amai Jade replied as she played with the charms on her cell phone.

"Why do you ask?" I told her, curious as to why Chiharu-chan would ask such a question. Chiharu isn't stupid; she has more common sense than most of the other so-called "popular" girls that grace our class.

"Oh, I'm just trying to figure out what class people are in, socially I mean." she answered absentmindedly as she picked up another piece of teriyaki from her lunch.

So that is how we ended up spending the lunch break placing people into social classes. Jade or Naoko would pick out a person in the cafeteria and Chiharu and Rika would debate over which class they belonged until they reached a consensus. I watched most of the time, shaking my head with each incorrect guess but not daring to correct them.

After all, Tetsuya Kairi is a sweet girl and an amazing artist, not a hardcore druggie with abusive parents. She suffers from insomnia from time to time.

And Asakura Yohmei is the only child of a pair of bakers with aspirations to become a sushi chef.

Suoh Hanabi is not a whore. She just likes dressing up in Lolita-style outfits far too often and still manages to dress in Lolita style even with the uniform on.

When the bell rang, Jade said as we were walking to 5th hour English, "What about the kaijuu?"

"What about her?" Naoko asked disdainfully, finally shutting Paradise closed.

"I just want to know." Jade replied casually as she spun the combination lock on her locker open.

"She has no class." Chiharu put in quickly.

"She's an insufferable nobody who doesn't know anybody." Rika stated.

Then I noticed her walking swiftly past us in the hallways. Her eyes are angry yet they are sparkling with unshed tears. I felt my heart going out to her, crying for all the things society has done to her. But I restrain myself at the last moment. We cannot associate. It is against the rules of society. But then, I remind myself that she has nobody.

Will I break her hard shell?

Will I break the laws of society?

Will I become her friend?

Yes, I think I will.

I would risk everything.

I mean, everything.

"Hello? Tomoyo? Are you there?" Jade said, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Wha- yeah. I'm fine." I answered, jerking out of my righteous thoughts momentarily before focusing again on Kinomoto Sakura's retreating back.

I was deep in thought.

And I was formulating a plan.

_Expect the unexpected_.

* * *

"Daidouji-san!"

I turned around and smiled easily at the hailing freshman.

"Makimono-san, how are you?"

The hallways after school were still crowded with milling students. The bespectacled girl looked at me with wide eyes, drowning me in her uncomfortable adoration.

"Good Daidouji-san! I was wondering, would you be willing to do a showcase for the school's magazine? Your mother could take it as an opportunity to advertise her clothing company to the mass teenage market."

The charm bracelet on her right wrist jingled as she swept a lock of her hair behind her ear.

I sighed again to myself. When would people get it right? I smiled, hiding my irritation, and gently corrected her.

"Actually, I own Daidouji Designs. You know of my company?"

Makimono flushed bright purple. "Oh well... yes, yes... I did. Daidouji Designs is obviously yours; who wouldn't know that?"

_You_ didn't know that. You and half of my so-called friends.

I blinked. Where did that come from?

So I agreed to the showcase.

What did I have to loose by agreeing?

Oh right, my sanity.

* * *

-The Next Day-  
-Sakura-

The roof is always such a relaxing place.

Pity it's too cold to do anything involving the outdoors.

Stretching my muscles, I made my way to the music room, intending to pass the lunch period there. Sliding open the door, I stared at the person seated behind the piano.

Someone's already taken my sanctuary.

"Take a seat. You're not bothering me. You're here to escape too, aren't you Kinomoto-san?"

There was no malice in his voice.

The music continued playing.

"That's... that's the cantabile adagio movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique." I finally worked up the nerve to say.

Hiiragizawa smiled. "Very good. You're the only one -aside from Syaoran- who knew that. Most people think I composed it."

He stopped playing the piano when the movement came to an end.

"Do you play?"

I gave the barest of nods.

"Will you play for me?"

He offered me his now-empty seat on the bench. I hesitated, weighing my options. What if this was some cruel trick to humiliate me?

Noticing my hesitation, he quickly amended, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

_"You're no good. Good for nothing except to be dust under my feet_."

I took a seat and began to play.

* * *

-Syaoran-

Chopin.

I hear Chopin.

It must be Eriol.

My best friend can't run away from me forever. He really needs to stop avoiding me during lunch. I want the company of someone halfway sane among the dimwits!

Then again, Eriol's not used to this. He's used to staying in the shadows of Seijuu, ignored and alone.

Sometimes I wonder if he's happy with his current social status.

Is it too much of a burden to be surrounded by people who care?

By people who want to talk to you?

By people who make you feel human?

I burst into the music room, triumphantly yelling, "AHA! I FOUND YOU!"

The piano came to a crashing stop.

"Baka." He muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

That was when I noticed her seated behind the piano.

She looked at me with her guarded gaze, as stoic as I heard she usually was.

"Sorry." I said softly. "Did I interrupt your practice?"

She said nothing as she brushed past me and walked out the door.

"Classy exit. Just what a rebellious girl needs." Eriol commented.

Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms and looked at him incredulously. "What the hell does that mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It just sounded like a good time to say that."

* * *

-Tomoyo-

Whenever we walk home from school, I'm always the first one to be dropped off.

Jade hung on my arm, giggling. "What do you think about Hiiragizawa-kun Tomoyo-chan?"

I glanced at her. "Li-san's tomodachi? What about him?"

Rika smiled slyly. "Don't deny it. I saw you walking with him yesterday morning."

"And Li-kun. I didn't realize you were going after him." Chiharu added.

I sighed and buried my face in my hands. "I'm not going after anybody! I'm quite content with my love life right now; quit messing with it!" I groaned.

Naoko looked at me blankly. "Your non-existent love life you mean?"

"Yes, yes, whatever you want to call it. I don't need to be in a relationship right now."

We rounded the last corner before my house. There were two people ahead of us, shivering in the harsh winter breeze like we were.

Unfortunately, they were the two people we were just talking about.

Pulling on my arm, Jade gave me a suggestive glance. "Oh..."

For the love of God and all things holy, do not turn around and say-

"Hey! Daidouji-san!"

... Never mind.

Plastering a smile on my face and pointedly ignoring my giggling traitorous friends behind me, I said, "Hey Hiiragizawa. What are you doing here?"

He looked at me puzzled. "I should be asking you that. I live here."

I followed his finger to the specific house he was pointing at down the street..

No...

freaking...

way.

"Oh." I replied, surprised. "That's funny. I live right across the street from you. How come I've never realized you've lived across from me my entire life?"

Hiiragizawa gazed out into space; I thought he wasn't paying attention. "Oh, I always leave the house ridiculously early. We probably miss each other all the time. Besides, I didn't go to Tomoeda Elementary; I spent my late primary school and early secondary school days abroad."

"Britain I'm assuming?"

He smiled at me. "Correct. You are the only person, besides Syaoran that is, who knew that. But then again, someone else might know that piece of information as well."

Curiosity overwhelmed me. "Who?"

"Kinomoto Sakura."

Again with her name. Why is she suddenly popping up everywhere?


	7. Soccer Score

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Back by popular demand!

* * *

-

-Chapter Eight-  
-Misunderstood: Soccer Score-  
-Syaoran-

Gym. The one class where I truly am the best in. Especially today, when we play soccer.

That's right.

Soccer.

As captain of the soccer team, I truly am one of the best.

So we have a soccer game. Boys vs. Girls.

I'm confident we're gonna win.

Wait, its three-man teams. I got paired up with Eriol and Yamazaki. A winning combination, no doubt. Was it really a good idea to place three Seijuu soccer players on the same team?

When we stepped out onto the indoor field, I saw who we're playing against.

Mihara, who's okay at soccer, Daidouji, who's one of the best, and her, the kaijuu.

I've never seen her play.

So it's the kickoff.

"We're gonna beat you so bad." Yamazaki told Mihara.

"I wouldn't bet on it." she answered, a daring grin on her lips.

The whistle blew and...

Mihara has possession of the ball.

"Tomoyo!" She passes the ball to Daidouji, who takes it up-field. She kicks and....

It's a score! I told you she was good. 1-0.

Eriol takes the ball up-field and passes to me. I'm ready to kick.

But when I'm about to score with Mihara at the goal, my foot hits nothing.

When I look up, I see the kaijuu passing to Daidouji and Daidouji passes the ball back to her.

Eriol's worn out from chasing the ball everywhere. The kaijuu kicks and...

Scores?

I look again. Sure enough, the ball gets past Yamazaki.

I have possession. I'm taking the ball towards the goal when, poof! It's gone again!

I'm two feet away from the goal, when the kaijuu comes out of nowhere and kicks the ball.

No one intercepts the ball.

And...

It lands neatly in the goal.

Past Yamazaki again.

Toshi-sensei blows the whistle, signaling the end of the game. The score? 3-0. We lost. Horribly, might I add.

Damn, who is she?

Why isn't she on the soccer team?

I'm sure she'd be the star player.

"Good job Kinomoto. Nice kick." Toshi-sensei, the P.E. teacher, says to the kaijuu.

"Arigato." Kinomoto, err- the kaijuu- answers.

"You're just like your brother. He was the best Seijuu High ever had." Toshi-sensei said.

She gives him a small smile. "It must be in my blood."

Kinomoto walked off to the girls' locker room to change.

* * *

-5 minutes later-

When I walked out of the locker room, I saw Kinomoto pass by.

"Hey, matte!" I called to her.

She spun around and when she saw me, her face twisted into a scowl and she turned away again.

I caught up to her and fired her with questions.

"Hey, where'd you learn to play like that?"

"Who was Toshi-sensei talking about?"

"How come you're not on the soccer team?"

"That's the first time I've ever been beaten by a girl."

I stopped to take a breath. She turned to me and says in a cold voice,

"It's impolite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. I'm not going to tell you anything Li. Don't try my patience."

Kinomoto glared at me and walked away.

Leaving me standing there stunned.

"Hey! Who's your brother?" I yelled out to her.

"If you're so smart, why don't you look in the 1998 yearbook?"

I'm still shocked. That's the first time I've ever been told off.

And by a _girl_ too.

Most girls would blush around me and get all hyper and excited. It's nauseating really.

But she's different.

_Expect the unexpected_.

* * *

Eriol laughed at me, the tears of mirth streaming down his pale face.

"Hahahahaha... she... oh Kami... hahaha... you... and her... hahaha... Syaoran... can't breathe!"

"Good." I grumbled. "I hope you can't. Serves you right for laughing at me. Better yet, I hope you have asthma and die from asphyxiation."

_That_ finally calmed Eriol down.

"You're a terrible person. A cruel and terrible person. So terrible not even Lucifer would claim your soul." He pouted.

I gave him a pointed look and raised an eyebrow. "Dude, there's like... forty different man-laws out there against men pouting. Knock it off."

"And there are fifty different man-laws against men saying the word 'like' like a girl." He retorted good-naturedly.

I froze. That was a good comeback. "Touché." I answered simply.

My cell phone rang a forbidding tone, one my cousin ripped off from a Japanese horror film. It fit though; the tone was the ringer ID for a certain group of people.

"Dun dun dun dun!" Eriol sang along. "Your mother calls!"

Shooting him a dirty look, I answered the phone, slipping back into the keigo I knew. "Moshi moshi, Li desu." I answered.

Unfortunately, my mother chose the perfect opportunity to switch languages on me. She started speaking in rapid Mandarin Chinese.

"Xiao Lang, I hope you can do me a small favor? It's rather important you see..."

Rather important? Wow, that must mean it's really important if it's my _mother_, the mighty Li Yelan, saying it's important.

"What?" Eriol whispered, just as bewildered as I am.

"What do I need to do?" I asked.

She told me.

And I swore in English.

"Bloody hell."

* * *

-Sakura-

_If the sky was a mirror  
Would I see my reflection?  
If the water was clearer  
Would I have no confusion?  
And if I defy  
The laws of Nature  
Would I die  
Or burn in an eternal hell?_

_Would you guess  
That I don't know what to take  
In regards to my path?  
And did you know  
That our love was never meant  
To last?  
And if I  
Could say  
One final saying  
Would you stay  
Or will you turn and  
Walk away?_

I strode over to the radio and turned it off.

"I was listening to that kaijuu."

My brother growled at me over his stack of papers.

"Deal with it Nii-san." I snapped back. "You hear it all the time; why would one radio play make a difference?"

"Because it's good enough to get on the radio in the first place? What did the artist do- bribe a few people, find all the right connections at the right time?"

I glared at him and his dark eyes filled with regret.

"Sakura... that's not what I meant."

"Then what?" I exploded. "What did you mean Nii-san?"

I turned on heel and ran up the stairs to my room, ignoring my brother's frantic pleas for forgiveness. Slamming my door shut, I glared at the crisp blank sheets sitting on the music stand before my eyes.

"Don't mock me!" I yelled, knocking the stand over and scattering the pages on the floor.

_"You could never amount to anything Sakura. You're too weak and insignificant."_

I heard the doorbell ring and my cousin's familiar soft tenor echoing through the ventilation shafts. Toya was going out to play a game of soccer with Yukito and a bunch of their college friends at Penguin Park.

Soccer...

What's so special about the stupid sport anyway?


	8. The Friendship Project

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: I own nothing but plot. Got it? Good.

Thanks to all my reviewers! You all know who you are! This is for you!

* * *

-

-Chapter Nine-  
-Misunderstood: The "Friendship" Project-  
-Eriol-

Ah yes, Social Studies. The end of the subject where it hates me and I hate it. Mortal enemies.

I walked in behind Syaoran for Morality aka social hour. But Kenji-sensei tells us, beginning of third semester for Pete's sake, that we have a project due at the end of the school year.

A "Friendship" Project.

We're in groups of four and we receive instructions a bit at a time.

"Some will be paired with friends, others with strangers. This is supposed to be a project to strengthen and gain new friendships. All right? Okay, here are the groups!"

He went on and on until..."Daidouji! You're with Hiiragizawa, Kinomoto, and Li. Go to Table Four."

Several students whispered, "Who's Kinomoto?" until the kaijuu stood up and joined us at Table Four, silencing the room with one simple movement.

"Okay, we're supposed to introduce ourselves. I'll go first." Daidouji said, reading off the sheet she pulled from the center of the table. "I'm Daidouji Tomoyo, fifteen, and I'm in the choir as a hobby."

I went next. "I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol, sixteen, and I like to read." I pointed at Syaoran, who said,

"Li Syaoran, sixteen, and I'm in a band." His gaze rested on the kaijuu, who glared at him, and replied to our unspoken queries in a cold voice,

"Kinomoto Sakura, fifteen, and I refuse to tell my hobbies and activities." Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she eyed us suspiciously, analyzing us in-depth.

An uneasy silence settled over our table. From all sides, groups were excitedly discussing their lives and shared interests.

"So…" I said, breaking the silence.

"You're a musician aren't you? A pianist." Kinomoto cut in.

I looked at her in surprise. I didn't think she would remember that one time we ran into each other in the music room.

"You've played for many years." She added. "I can tell from the way your fingers curl inward when you rest your hand on a tabletop."

Daidouji-san gasped in surprise and glanced at my hand. True to her word, my fingers did curl slightly inward when my hand rested on the table. "Wow really? I didn't know that. That's amazing Kinomto-san!"

The other girl looked at her with wide curious eyes. "What about me? What can you tell about me?"

Kinomoto snorted and leaned back in her chair. "What _don't _I know about you is the question. The majority of the student body can list of your entire student profile and record by heart."

"Can you?" Syaoran asked pointedly.

"No. I don't need to." Came her cryptic remark.

The silence settled again. I was beginning to hate it, not when I heard Kinomoto Sakura speak more in the last fifteen minutes than I heard in my entire life.

"Cosplay. You cosplay." Kinomoto finally said. "The silver ring on your right hand is from _Nana_. Nakashima Mika wore an identical ring on her finger in the live action version when she played Oosaki Nana."

Toying with the Vivienne Westwood ring around her finger, Daidouji nodded slightly.

"And me? What can you tell about me?" Syaoran finally asked. Curiosity finally got the best of him I guess.

She stared at him for a long time, refusing to say anything.

The bell rang. We took up more time organizing ourselves and listening to Kinomoto analyze us than I thought we did.

"Okay, homework! Fill out this form for 100 points. Due tomorrow. Class dismissed." Kenji-sensei yelled to the rapidly retreating class.

"Well?" Syaoran pressed her as we stood up to gather our books.

She looked at him again and smirked. "You don't know who the hell you are."

We stared at her stunned before we realized the room was emptying quickly. The statement hung in the air even after I grabbed a sheet from the table and headed out the door.

As I walked towards my locker, I looked at the form, the last few minutes forgotten.

It read:

_Name:_

_Age:_

_Date of Birth:_

_Mother's name:_

_Father's name:_

_Sibling(s)' name(s):_

_Hobbies (list three):_

_Extracurricular:_

_Favorite_

_-food:_

_-place:_

_-person:_

_-color:_

_-music group:_

_Pet:_

_Best friend(s):_

_Do you play a musical instrument?:_

What kind of homework is this? More like a weapon for...espionage.

* * *

-Last hour: gym-

We're doing gymnastics. Oh, joy. My ultimate favorite sport.

It's the bars today. Tanazaki-sensei, the other gym teacher, tell us that we have to do a simple flip on the bars. "If you can do more, then show us all what you can do." the hyper sensei yells.

Most people were only able to do one flip but they weren't very good. Daidouji, Mihara, and Yanagisawa did two flips on the bars and their form was almost perfect. I went next. I did two flips too except...

"Hiiragizawa! Straighten your legs a little more!" Tanazakai-sensei yells.

Syaoran did three consecutive flips on the bars and his form was almost perfect too. He was second to last in line. Everyone clustered on the mats near the bars that lined the floors in the area where we practiced floor gymnastics. Each eye was trained on Kinomoto, the last in line. Many were quite sure that she would manage to do only one lousy horrible flip. But that determined look in her face tells me that we're going to watch something interesting.

Her back is up against the wall, a good thirty feet away from the low bar. Tanazaki-sensei nods her head and blows her whistle for the kaijuu to begin.

She starts running towards the bar. Three feet away, Kinomoto jumps and her hands land on the five foot tall bar. She flips and lets go of the bar. Many students are sniggering, saying the kaijuu can only do one flip.

Boy are they wrong.

Kinomoto propelled herself to the next highest bar and flipped three times, something nobody had accomplished in class. She let go once again, flipped in the air and landed on the third and last highest bar. Doing one last flip, she landed neatly on her feet on the mat. You'd think that all the students would be swarming around the girl firing her with questions but this is the kaijuu we're talking about.

There are no swarming, awe-struck students.

There is no volley of questions.

There is a bunch of snobby idiots who denounce the girl after she had accomplished a feat no one else had done.

"That was amazing." Syaoran whispered to me.

"I know. But they're too stuck up to even admit it." I said. My eyes caught Daidouji's amethyst blue ones. She gazed longingly at Kinomoto, wanting to ask her something, but was pulled away by her friends.

_Interesting._ I thought.

But why would the Perfect Girl want to do anything with the kaijuu?

_Expect the unexpected._

* * *

-Tomoyo-  
-Afterschool-

I left by myself today.

On my way home, I ran into Hiiragizawa-san. I completely forgot we lived across the street from each other.

Racing to catch up to him, I called his name. "Hiiragizawa-san!"

He paused and stopped, waiting for me to catch up before walking again. "Daidouji-san, how are you?"

The same old polite conversation.

I smiled brightly. "Well. You?"

He gave me an enigmatic smile before softly replying: "I'm excruciatingly paranoid. Did you see that homework Kenji-sensei gave us?"

In all honesty, I haven't even looked at the sheet. I just shoved it into my folder and ran out the door for last hour gym.

Which I also had with Hiiragizawa.

"No... what about it?"

Handing me the homework, I scanned it over before choking on my saliva. "_What_? Is he serious?" I sputtered as I gave it back to him.

Hiiragizawa chuckled humorlessly. "I'm afraid not. I think it's a weapon for bloody espionage."

_You got that right_. I mentally agreed._ I don't even think my closest friends know half the stuff on that sheet_.

We walked in silence until the last corner before our street.

"Hey Daidouji-san... would you be able to tell something about a person if he or she was constantly surrounded by friends?"

What a strange question.

"No. What is that supposed to tell me- he's not lonely? People who are constantly swarmed by others may be some of the loneliest people in the world."

He stared at me for a long time before he gave me another mystifying smile and dropped me off at my front door.

"I see. Thank you."

"Are you thinking about Sakura-san?" I called out at the last moment.

He didn't answer me.

"No." Hiiragizawa said. "I'm thinking about Syaoran."

I watched him leave in stunned silence.


	9. Homework

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: The plot is mine. CCS isn't. Joy.

Due to the fact that several of my reviewers threatened me with severe pain and torture, here's Chapter 10 for you.

Thanks to:

Greenleaf Blossom

Sunflower

FlowerLover

miz-annonymouz04

nitaice

You guys rule!

* * *

So, you wanna know what our four characters did for Kenji-sensei's "Friendship" project homework. Scroll down to find each individual worksheet.

-Callista Miralni

**EDIT: JANUARY 17, 2009**

I added a bit of a storyline in between each worksheet by the way.

* * *

Emerald glazed over as she clutched the countertop of her bathroom sink tightly. Her head spun but she had enough sense to try and stay upright and stumble into the bathroom.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Why is this happening only now?

On the floor of her room behind her, a series of identical looking cards were haphazardly strewn about. A few were face up; their meaning only known to their master and creator.

Sakura looked at her reflection and nearly screamed when she saw the face in the mirror.

It was not her own image.

But rather, it was the image of the one she hated the most.

_Her_.

**

* * *

**

**Name:**_ Kinomoto, Sakura Celeste Amamiya_

**Age: **_15_

**Date of Birth: **_April 1, 1989_

**Mother's name: **_Nadeshiko Hikari Amamiya_

**Father's name: **_Fujitaka Matsuzo Kinomoto_

**Sibling(s)' name(s): **_Toya Makoto Amamiya Kinomoto_

**Hobbies (list three): **_skating, reading, writing_

**Extracurricular:**_ gymnastics, piano_

**Favorite**

**-food: **_salmon sashimi and pancakes_

**-place: **_Penguin Park_

**-person: **_Yukito Tsukishiro, my cousin_

**-color: **_fuchsia, purple, light pink_

**-music group: **_Skye Sweetnam, Evanescence, Linkin Park_

**Pet: **_Kero, my cat and Yue, my Shih Tzu_

**Best friend(s): **_Meiling Rae_

**Do you play a musical instrument?: **_piano_

* * *

She sat diligently working on her latest sketch.

Tomoyo was never one for horror films but this one called to her attention.

The pencil in her hand glided smoothly across the paper, the image accurately transferred from her mind to paper.

What is so fascinating about a ring?

Is it because it is never ending?

Or is it because it is eternity expressed in the simplest of ideas?

What is so horrifying about a ring?

Is it because it is never ending?

Or is it because it is the cycle of life and death expressed in the simplest of ideas?

Which is more powerful?

The dream or the nightmare?

* * *

**Name: **_Daidouji, Tomoyo Minerva Amamiya_

**Age: **_15_

**Date of Birth: **_September 3, 1989_

**Mother's name: **_Sonomi Kinu Amamiya_

**Father's name: **_Takashi Mihiru Daidouji_

**Sibling(s)' name(s):**_ none_

**Hobbies (list three): **_singing, dressmaking, cinematography_

**Extracurricular:**_ choir_

**Favorite**

**-food:**_ chicken fettuccine alfredo, Italian style_

**-place:**_ Penguin Park_

**-person: **_Kaho Mizuki, my cousin_

**-color: **_purple, white_

**-music group:**_ Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch_

**Pet:**_ none_

**Best friend(s):**_ Chiharu Mihara, Naoko Yanagisawa, and Rika Sasaki_

**Do you play a musical instrument?:**_ harp_

* * *

_"Tell me what you're looking for  
What you're trying to see  
Beyond the cold lie?"_

The guitar chords flowed easily from his fingertips. Syaoran couldn't believe he was having difficulty playing this when he started an hour ago.

He didn't understand why Yamazaki was so obsessed with this song in the first place. For goodness's sake, a _girl_ sang it for starters and it wasn't even April 5th's style.

Too dark.

Too emo.

Too emotionally driven.

Too close to home.

What was he searching for anyways?

Syaoran knows people are baffled when they see him and Eriol hanging out together. As part of the upper echelons of the school's hierarchy, Eriol shouldn't have even been on his radar of noticeable individuals.

But _he_ noticed him.

And Syaoran just could not let him go.

Eriol reminded him so much of himself as a child in Hong Kong.

A lonely childhood.

The day he moved to Japan almost three years ago, he swore he would never let anyone suffer the same way he did.

Not if he could help it.

* * *

**Name:**_ Li, Syaoran Ryu Chen_

**Age:**_ 16_

**Date of Birth:**_ July 13, 1988_

**Mother's name:**_ Yelan Mikali Chen_

**Father's name:**_ Zenta Lang Li_

**Sibling(s)' name(s):**_ Fanren Kaita, Shiefa Jade, Futtie Amiya, Feimei Mikala_

**Hobbies (list three): **_video games, reading, skating_

**Extracurricular:**_ Band_

**Favorite**

**-food:**_ Xiomei, lo mein_

**-place:**_ any place with friends and family_

**-person: **_Meiling Rae, my cousin_

**-color: **_green, gold, _

**-music group: **_Linkin Park, Blink 182_

**Pet:**_ none_

**Best friend(s):**_ Eriol Hiiragizawa, Takashi Yamazaki_

**Do you play a musical instrument?: **_guitar_

* * *

He rubbed his forehead before picking up the spatula and scraping a dollop of icing out of the bowl.

There. An entire tray of cupcakes done.

The questionnaire lay on the counter nearby. He eyed it warily before setting the bowl and the spatula down in the sink and rinsing them off with water.

Picking up a pen, Eriol prepared himself to answer the first probing question. But his mind was elsewhere.

_People who are surrounded by other people may be some of the loneliest people in the world._

How true.

Look at Syaoran.

Look at Daidouji.

Look at himself.

And maybe, Eriol thought as he chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip and adjusted his glasses, maybe look at her.

The kaijuu.

Kinomoto Sakura.

She must be the loneliest person in the world.

* * *

**Name: **_Hiiragizawa, Eriol Helios Terasaki_

**Age: **_16_

**Date of Birth: **_March 23, 1988_

**Mother's name: **_Yumi Mina Terasaki_

**Father's name: **_Sorata Fai Hiiragizawa_

**Sibling(s)' name(s): **_none_

**Hobbies (list three):**_ reading, drawing, surfing the Web_

**Extracurricular:**_ art club_

**Favorite**

**-food:**_ okonomiyaki_

**-place: **_the library in my home_

**-person:**_ Nakuru Akizuki, my cousin_

**-color:**_ blue, black, silver_

**-music group: **_Good Charlotte, Blink 182_

**Pet:**_ Suppi, my cat and Ruby, my dog_

**Best friend(s): **_Syaoran Li, Takashi Yamazaki_

**Do you play a musical instrument?: **_piano_

* * *

A girl, her dark hair caught up in two identical pigtails, stepped off the plane. She breathed in the crisp winter air, eyes softening as the memories overcame her.

Walking almost oblivious to the camera flashes, she smiled automatically as she blindly followed her manager out the door of the airport.

"Welcome to Tokyo."

_

* * *

_

Good grief, that took a while to do.

I tried to stay true to the personalities in the manga, but I also changed some of their likes to fit the story. After all, this is a FANFIC.

Anyway, I also based some of their personality on myself or my friends.

Remember, no magic fic!

Ja ne!  
Callista Miralni

* * *


	10. A Nine Year Separation

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

I feel so loved. And so victorious.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I GOT YOU GUYS SO BAD!

Of course their personalities have a few shared qualities. Most friends do.

And a reviewer mentioned that they thought Sakura was a loner and had no friends.

Here's the answer: Sakura has no friends in Tomoeda. But that didn't mean that she had no friends at all. Meiling Rae plays a very crucial role in this story.

That's all I'm saying for now. Don't try to squeeze it out of me.

* * *

-Chapter Eleven-  
-Revelations: A Nine Year Separation-  
-Sakura-

I now officially hate Morality class.

Happy now? I thought so.

I can't believe he knows Meiling! He never mentioned anything out loud, but the look in his eyes betrayed his thoughts and emotions.

Call me a psychic. Or a seer even. I'm just perceptive.

At the end of gym, which was exceptionally boring as it was easy floor gymnastics, I strapped on my blades and skated "home". Once I got home, I plopped myself in front of my new tiny Sony Viao laptop in my lavender room. Logging onto my email account, I noticed I had a message.

A message from _lotusblossomgymnast(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)jp_.

My best friend Rae Meiling.

It read:

_Hey Sakura! I'm coming back to Tomoeda! Look outside the window at 3:30 on Friday. Till then-Meiling_

I smiled slightly. How many years ago did Meiling leave for good? It must have been what? Nine years? It didn't matter; those dratted Elders that kept my best friend in Hong Kong, were dictators. Total, complete control freaks.

What time was it anyway? It was Friday, alright, and it was….

Phweeeeeeeeeee! 3:29! Meiling!

Ding Dong!

I leapt down the stairs and bounded towards the door, opening it after fumbling with the lock. Outside, there stood my best friend, Meiling Rae.

Even after nine years of separation, she was still the same old Meiling. Sure she had gotten taller and all the growing up jazz, but Meiling was still the overprotective, fun-loving, caring girl I had always known. Her ruby eyes studied my emerald orbs intensely.

"Sakura, what happened?" she asked out of concern.

I looked at her quizzically.

I looked at my baggy pants and oversized t-shirt. The worn but still serviceable sneakers on my small feet. Then I caught sight of myself in the hallway mirror. My emerald eyes roamed over my appearance.

Then it hit me.

Even if I hadn't changed much physically, my personality sure did. A complete 180.

I had an icy cold, analyzing exterior.

I turned to Meiling and asked her quietly, "Can we go up to my room?"

"Sure Sakura." Her ruby eyes showed concern for my well being.

I had a lot of explaining to do.

Oh joy.

* * *

-Syaoran-

I paced anxiously around my apartment's living room, ignoring the tea Daidouji made for us.

"Eriol, no offense, but why is Daidouji-san here?" I asked, still pacing.

She laughed at me. "To provide some female support. Your cousin's a girl right? It's nice to know girls are around."

I nodded, half-listening to what she had to say. "Hn."

Eriol looked at the clock. "Shouldn't she have been here by now? It's four-thirty."

I growled and threw an eraser taken off the counter at the clock. "Where the hell is she? She's an entire hour late!"

* * *

-Sakura-

After we plopped down on the lavender covered bed, "I suppose I have explaining to do?"

"You'd better believe it." was her response.

I sighed. Then I began my story.

"See, when I was nine, I was often bullied. The teachers couldn't do anything about it because of pushy parents. So when I entered middle school the next year, I started to display an icy cold, analyzing exterior. I couldn't betray emotion at all and I began to avoid people. But I was ridiculed anyways."

"Oh my gosh Sakura! Why didn't you do fight back? Why wasn't I there? Oh damn it!" Meiling ranted. I smiled thinly and waited for her to calm down. When she did, I began again.

"But that's not all. In seventh grade, a girl named Kaorin came to school with us as a transferee. We became friends. But she abused me."

"How?" Meiling asked outraged.

"She forced me to do all sorts of chores and tasks. Like her homework, day duties, and I was essentially her little slave. I couldn't break our friendship, because she was the only one that knew that okaa-san died and otou-san often went on trips away from home. So right before winter break eighth grade year, I told her off and broke our friendship."

"Good for you Sakura!" Meiling cheered. But when she saw that I wasn't finished, she calmed down and said, "And then what?"

I made a face. "Well, apparently, over the break, Kaorin started spreading rumors about me to the popular people at school. They stuck. Kaorin also told them that onii-chan calls me kaijuu because I'm mean and rude, so that stuck too. Even through high school, the rumors still stuck and the nickname's permanent. I don't have a single friend in the world except for you, Meiling-chan."

Meiling's looked at me sadly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"They tracked, hacked, and stole my e-mail account in eighth grade. Otou-san had to pay a fine because they filed a complaint and claimed I had stolen the account."

Meiling hugged me tightly while all the tears from the past nine, agonizing years we spent away from each other threatened to fall from my eyes.

_Only until we see how fortunate we are, it is only then can we accept the reality of the world. But, when we feel that all hope is gone from our lives, hope is there, because it was never lost to begin with._

It was only then that I saw I was truly blessed, despite all the hardships I had encountered in life.

* * *

Oi, that was only two pages long, but it contained a lot of important information! In case you where wondering, _Phweee _is another way of writing _hoe._ I like this spelling better for some reason. I bet you weren't betting on Meiling showing up so suddenly.

This chapter only contained a tenth of the reasons why this fic's called Fallen Through. In due time, you will see the whole picture. -Callista Miralni


	11. I'm WHAT?

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

You're a dunce if you don't know who wrote this.

Good grief, I'm always excited to check my e-mail. Why? Because of reviews!

I'm trying to make the chapters longer but hey, I write with inspiration. Don't sue me Hanna!

* * *

-Chapter 12-  
-Revelations: I'm WHAT?!-  
-Tomoyo-  
-Earlier that same Friday, Sixth Hour-

Oh my. It seems we have a problem.

Today in Morality, we swapped worksheets with our group members.

It caused all our problems.

I think Hiiragizawa-kun is right.

It's a weapon...for espionage.

Anyway...I got Hiiragizawa's worksheet. Li got Kinomoto's, Hiiragizawa got mine, and Kinomoto got Li's.

As we quickly read through the info, we all had a look of identical shock on our faces.

There, under the favorite person heading, Hiiragizawa had written Akizuki Nakuru.

That's my cousin's best friend since elementary.

"You know Nakuru?" I asked him.

Hiiragizawa looked surprised, but answered, "Yeah, she's my cousin."

He turned to Li and asked, "What's on Kinomoto's fave person list"

Li says, "Tsukishiro Yukito."

Hiiragizawa deadpanned. "No way, that's my cousin's boyfriend."

Kinomoto had a strange look on her face, but she said nothing.

"Who's Li's favorite person, Kinomoto-san?" I asked her kindly.

She gave me a strange look. Silently, Kinomoto rose from her seat and left the classroom. Kenji-sensei noticed, but he didn't do or say anything.

"What did I say?" I asked my group-mates quizzically.

Li gave me Kinomoto's sheet. "Compare mine to hers."

So I did. Only one name remained the same; on Li's it was under favorite person, on Kinomoto's it was under best friend. I didn't even know she had a best friend.

But the name rang a familiar chord too.

Rae Meiling. The famous gymnast and martial artist.

But how's that possible? With her cold attitude, uncaring personality, and analytical behavior, how could the kaijuu, out of all people, be friends with a famous and kind person?

As I stared at the sheet longer, realization dawned on me.

Kinomoto Sakura wasn't always the person she is today.

In fact, she was far from it.

"Okay class. Your next assignment is a group assignment. Choose one person from your group and do something kind for them without knowing it's from your group-mates."

Chiharu-chan raised her hand. "Demo... Sensei, there's one person missing from each group."

Kenji-sensei looked thoughtful. "Alright, for the person that's missing from your group, do something kind for them. Remember, don't speak of this assignment. Class is dismissed when the bell rings."

I looked at Hiiragizawa and Li. No words were exchanged. Kinomoto Sakura was in for a surprise.

"How 'bout something for Easter?" Hiiragizawa suggested.

"Naw, that's for kids in elementary school. How about doing her homework when she's not looking?" Li answered.

"No. Let's become her friend." I said, determined to set things right.

The two boys looked at me with disbelief. "You do know how hard that gonna be Daidouji-san." Hiiragizawa said delicately.

Li snorted. "Oh yeah, let's put a gift in her locker on the week of her birthday. The day Kinomoto lets me be her friend is the day when pigs fly wearing bikinis and shades."

Hiiragizawa and Li argued about what to do for Kinomoto. I stayed silent, thinking about Li's comment. No, not the thing about bikini-wearing flying pigs, the thing about her birthday.

Now, I just need one more thing. I wish I had written her birthday down, but Sensei collected all the worksheets.

I need to talk to someone after school.

* * *

Sakura silently stood up from her chair in Morality class. Wordlessly, she left the classroom. She knew Kenji-sensei didn't care if she left, he knew there were issues that were too much for her to handle.

As soon as she was a good 50 feet away from the door of her current class, Sakura broke into a run, down the hall, down the stairs, to an office on the main floor. After composing herself from her top floor run, Sakura knocked softly on the door.

"Come in!" a feminine voice called from behind the door.

Sakura quietly let herself inside the bright and roomy office, where her friend, Mizuki Kaho, worked handling student information and affairs. She was a kind woman of twenty and just so happened to be dating her older brother, the infamous Kinomoto Toya.

"Hey Kura, what's up?"

Sakura plopped herself down on the comfy sofa and cradled her head in her hands. "Why did she have to ask me that?"came the fifteen year old's muffled voice.

A look of worry passed over the older girl's face. She got up from her desk and walked over to Sakura, kneeling next to her.

"Who asked you what question?" Kaho asked gently.

Sakura looked up. "Daidouji asked me who was on Li's favorite person list."

"Why is that so bad, Sakura?" Kaho said, confused. "Who was on Li-san's favorite person list?"

Sakura stared at Kaho straight into her hazel eyes. Involuntarily, Kaho thought that the girl's emerald eyes knew too much about life and this world. Those eyes saw more than perceived.

"Rae Meiling."

Kaho drew her hand away from Sakura and sat next to her on the couch. A look of dread was plastered on her gentle face.

"I think it's best if you stay here until school ends." she said softly. Crossing the room back to her desk, Kaho logged onto her computer and e-mailed all of Sakura's afternoon teachers. Stealing a glance at the silent girl, Kaho thought of all the things that young Sakura had to encounter at such a young age. _She had to grow up too fast. _Kaho thought.

Her mind whirled back to all the things Sakura had to deal with since Meiling left. She couldn't have a friend; she was often used and abused for her kindness. Kaho thought of Kaorin, and all the trouble and unhappiness she caused. Of course, Kaorin was expelled during her freshman year for certain reasons but her twin was still here.

Her twin.

The one that hangs around her cousin, Tomoyo.

Kaho shook her head. Anything that reminded Sakura of Meiling, _anything_ that triggered even a memory of Meiling, of her mother, of her former happy life, sent Sakura into a deep and dark pit of despair and hopelessness.

There was nothing that Mizuki Kaho, or anybody else, could do for Kinomoto Sakura in this dark time.

Suddenly Sakura stood up. "I'm gonna go to gym, Kaho. I'll be back by the bell."

Kaho glanced at the clock Toya had given her last New Year's. "Kura, the bell's gonna ring in two seconds."

Sakura glanced haughtily at the clock. "Well, then, I might as well stay here." She sat back down on the couch and waited.

* * *

-Tomoyo-

After gym class, I walked swiftly to the main floor, to the office that bore the sign _Mizuki Kaho_ on it.

Opening the door, I found Kinomoto there to my surprise. She glanced at me, and then at my cousin, and rose from the sofa.

"It's late, I've gotta run." Kinomoto said. I stepped to the side as the shorter girl passed by me to get to the door. I was confused, after all the bell had just rung. I looked at Kaho. She was staring at a frame of a painted cherry blossom, a look of worry and trouble on her normally passive face.

"What's up Moyo?" Kaho greeted me.

I stared at her for a while and said, "I need some student information."

"Oh? On who?"

"Kinomoto Sakura."

My cousin's face lit up with surprise and an unreal joy. "So, whaddya wanna know about her?"

I consulted the sheet of facts Li, Hiiragizawa, and I had come up with. "Birthday, age, fave food, fave book, fave stuff, fave music."

"Oh, is that for Morality?" Kaho asked. I nodded my head yes.

Kaho supplied my with all the information I needed for this project. I thanked her and was about to leave when she called my name.

"Hey, Tomoyo, what do you know about your friends?"

I looked at my cousin confused. "Why, I know practically everything about them."

Her face fell. "Do you?"

I fell silent at the abrupt question. Did I? Did I know Jade, Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika as well as I think I do?

"Your mother's waiting, Moyo. You should go."

I turned and left through the door. I heard Kaho's voice coming from the open door, echoing through the silent hallway, "If you should do an act of kindness, don't do it for the reward, do it because it is right."

My mind strayed back to this morning's English class. The words of the reading passage that Kinomoto read echoed through my mind.

* * *

_Fear itself is an interesting concept. It can be either to your advantage or your destruction. Many things come from fear; anger, hatred, revenge, jealousy, respect, and sometimes power. If we increase our fear of an object, name, place, or person, it grows to be part of our being. If it is part of our being, to let that fear go and to see the truth, is a difficult task and journey to undertake. To keep an open mind is essential to conquering irrational fear, but most of all, hope is the key to end all fears. Only until we see how fortunate we are, it is only then can we accept the reality of the world. But, when we feel that all hope is gone from our lives, hope is there, because it was never lost to begin with._

"Who wrote or said that Mihira-sensei?" Jade asked in English.

Mihira-sensei smile a small, soft smile. "A student of Seijuu High did."

"When?" Asked Naoko.

"Recently." the sensei mysteriously replied.

"Who said that?" Yamazaki asked.

"The author wishes to remain anonymous." Mihira-sensei replied softly.

* * *

Now I wondered about the wise words the student had written. It had to be either a junior or a senior, because those are the only two grades Mihira-sensei taught English to.

_The author must be perceptive._ I thought on the ride home.

* * *

I'm done and I'm sleepy

-Callista Miralni


	12. Family Ties

Fallen Through

I don't own anything and everything.

Oh and thanks to the reviewers.

I decided to break out of the pattern and just write who's POV it is. It's mainly going to be in Sakura's POV.

* * *

-Chapter 13-  
-Revelations: Family Ties-  
-Syaoran-  
-Still Friday, about 3:30 pm-

I have discovered something amazing.

Kinomoto Sakura is best friends with my favorite cousin, Rae Meiling.

Hiiragizawa Eriol, my best friend, is related to me distantly. How?

Well...

he's...

my great-grandma's nephew's cousin's daughter's son.

Got that? I didn't think so.

Hey, for all we know, he could be my great-grandma's aunt's nephew's daughter's cousin's son twice removed.

Complicated, ne? I prefer my REAL relation to Eriol, confusing as it is.

But.. Kinomoto and Meiling? That's unusual.

Well, I first found out in Religion, but Kinomoto might have been talking about a different Rae Meiling, so I shook it off. Then, I found out from my mom that Meiling was in Tomoeda already and that Eriol's my... well, you know, cousin.

I hate family ties.

* * *

-Sakura-

I looked at Meiling, after my little story. It didn't sound like it was my life, it sounded more like, well, a story.

But that is my life. One big story that doesn't seem like it would come true.

Only it did come true. I'm living this nightmare, with no way out. A dark, deep abyss.

I couldn't tell Meiling the whole story. It hurt just to think about it, it hurt just to remember it, it hurt to live through it, and hell, there's still a reminder of it.

"Sakura, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there, but there was my training and all those gym competitions, and the Elders." Meiling shuddered upon mentioning the rulers of her ancient family. I swear, they are dictators.

"Where are you staying?" I asked her.

"Me? I'm staying in an apartment three blocks away."

"Oh." I'm glad she's not staying with Li.

Meiling looked at her watch and gasped at the time. "Oh Sakura, I'm so sorry but I have to go and meet the movers at my apartment. I'll see you around."

She quickly left my house as quickly as she came. I watched her through my window, watching my only friend dash away into the life that welcomed her.

I slipped downstairs and walked outside into my backyard, blindly searching with my fingers for the gate latch. When I finally found it, I opened the gate and walked through to the spacious yard on the other side. I walked towards the pond and creek, listening to the calming sound of the many waterfalls in my backyard paradise. Nearby the water, there was a small and shady clearing, surrounded by cherry trees and Japanese maples. My quiet spot.

I lay quietly on the hammock, staring at the sky and listening to the water and the soft breezed ringing the melodic chimes that hung in a tree. As I lay there, I thought about how my life was a complete nightmare since I was seven. Seven, a young age to be experiencing a nightmare.

I closed my emerald eyes and listened, relaxing every tense muscle in my body and I felt myself slipping away into a familiar void. The breeze carried all sorts of conversations in my ears until only one remained, the familiar voice echoing in my ears.

_"Meiling, I would like to introduce to you Daidouji Tomoyo and Hiiragizawa Eriol, two good friends of mine at school."_

_"Nice to meet you Meiling. I'm your cousin Eriol."_

_"You guys go to Seijuu High, right?"_

_"Yes." _

_"Do you know Kinomoto Sakura?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are you friends?" _

_"No, she has no friends. She's the kaijuu."_

_"I can't believe you're friends with someone so cold, calm, and has a downright unnerving analyzing exterior."_

_"Especially since you're so nice!"_

_"Sakura wasn't always like that."_

_"What do you mean?" _

_"I knew she was nice at one point!"_

_"Sakura had friends before. Their names were Yanagisawa Naoko, Mihara Chiharu, Sasaki Rika, and Amai Jade. But that was  
back in second grade."_

_"Nani? That's the names of my friends!"_

_"Then they've long forgotten her."_

My eyes flew open and silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I was reminded of the friends that I had lost and never regained. Of course they don't remember me; they hate me now.

I stumbled out of the hammock, clumsy from my sudden lapse into sleep, and back into the house. Closing the door to my room, I lay on my bed and cried myself back to sleep.

I live a nightmare so terrifying, I'm afraid to wake up from my slumber.

But even in sleep, my nightmare continues to haunt me.

* * *

-Meiling-

I dashed down the street to the apartment building I was supposed to be living in next door to my cousin. I saw him outside with a boy and a girl around my age. I ran up to the movers and quickly gave them directions before I talked to my cousin.

"Hey, Syaoran. Long time, no see." I greeted him with a hug. He let go of me and gestured to the other two standing nearby.

"Meiling, I would like to introduce to you Daidouji Tomoyo and Hiiragizawa Eriol, two good friends of mine at school."

"Nice to meet you Meiling. I'm your cousin Eriol." He had a kind smile but possessed a mischievous glint in his sapphire eyes. I think I'll like my 'new' cousin.

"You guys go to Seijuu High, right?" I asked.

"Yes." the girl, Daidouji-san, replied.

"Do you know Kinomoto Sakura?" I asked, excited that someone knew my best friend. An uneasy silence greeted me as the trio looked uncomfortably at each other before Eriol replied,

"Yes."

"Are you friends?" I pressed them.

"No, she has no friends. She's the kaijuu." Syaoran replied bluntly. The old nickname Toya gave her became a burden to poor Sakura.

"I can't believe you're friends with someone so cold, calm, and has a downright unnerving analyzing exterior." Eriol mused aloud.

"Especially since you're so nice!" Daidouji-san exclaimed.

"Sakura wasn't always like that." I quietly answered.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran and Eriol asked, surprised.

"I knew she was nice at one point!" Daidouji-san said triumphantly.

"Sakura had friends before. Their names were Yanagisawa Naoko, Mihara Chiharu, Sasaki Rika, and Amai Jade. But that was back in second grade." I explained

"Nani? That's the names of my friends!" Daidouji-san said, utterly shocked at the news.

"Then they've long forgotten her." I quietly replied, my heart full of sadness. _Why didn't Sakura tell me?_ I asked myself.

_She did tell you. You didn't want to believe it though. _My mind answered.

I saw that Kinomoto Sakura was indeed alone. I made up my mind, right then and there, that I would change that status.

Even if I risked everything.

* * *

-Tomoyo-

"I knew she was nice at one point!"I said triumphantly.

"Sakura had friends before. Their names were Yanagisawa Naoko, Mihara Chiharu, Sasaki Rika, and Amai Jade. But that was back in second grade." Rae-san explained

"Nani? That's the names of my friends!" I said, utterly shocked at the news.

"Then they've long forgotten her." She quietly replied.

My mind whirled with realization. The smart and perceptive Tomoyo didn't even pick up on this one.

She knew her best friends had been friends before she met them. But being Kinomoto-san's friend and then abandoning her?

_Do I truly know my friends?_ I asked myself. _Is this what Kaho meant when she asked my how well I knew my friends?_

I was scared.

For the first time in my life, I felt truly vulnerable and alone.

* * *

Long enough for you guys? It took forever to do!

Hey, tell me how this chapter was! Please review!

-Callista Miralni


	13. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Fallen Through

Disclaimer: I got nutin'.

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!

* * *

-Chapter 14-  
-Revelations: Boulevard of Broken Dreams-  
-Eriol-

Hmm...

I hate random assemblies, especially when it cuts into the Thursday free period.

But hey, random assemblies can help you cut class.

One more week before Daidouji's 'present plan' is put into action.

But today's random assembly is the spring talent show.

The talent show's always good, 'cause you see some "talent" and you miss all your afternoon classes. Meaning Morality and Social Studies. And Gym.

I followed Syaoran to the auditorium, called the Mikala Performing Arts Center, or the MPAC. It's got the state-of-the-art technology and the best equipment ever. Being popular and all, Syaoran got me and Meiling front row seats with Daidouji and her friends. It's amazing just what one friendly smile or glance will do. Especially to women. There were girls filing out of their seats just to give Syaoran and his "poor friend" a chair.

Amai Jade-san was the announcer for all the acts.

First there was Uteda Hikari and Hino Ami singing some song by Puffy AmiYumi.

You wanna know what it was?

It was the Teen Titians theme song.

It's one of my favorite cartoon shows, but still...

the Teen Titians theme?

How'd they pull that off?

Good grief! It had all the special sound effects too!

Find a happy place... find a happy place... FIND A HAPPY PLACE!

* * *

-Two minutes later-

Phew... it's over! Alleluia!

Anyway, we sat through three hours of students performing some of the coolest (and stupidest) acts ever.

According to Meiling, or Ling Ling as I like to call her, the last act was two more songs in a row.

ARGH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I WANNA GO HOME AND I WANT THESE HORRIBLE SINGING IDIOTS TO DISAPPEAR! AHHHHHHHHH!

Amai announced the next act. "Well, Seijuu, here's your last! Two of your favorite songs being expertly performed by as student herself! We have Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Skye Sweetnam's Fallen Through! Please give it up for...Kinomoto Sakura!"

There was no enthusiastic clapping. I heard several voices whisper that Kinomoto-san would do a horrible job. Meiling was smiling serenely and was clapping for her friend. Daidouji and Syaoran looked surprised that Kinomoto had the courage to sing in front of the whole school, but then again, that girl is full of surprises.

The curtain opened to reveal Kinomoto wearing a loose pair of navy blue capris, white socks and tennis shoes, a loose white t-shirt with a sun on it, and a lavender hoodie tied securely around her small waist. Her long hair was swept up into its usual ponytail and she wore a beaded bracelet on both wrists. On her neck was a blue and green necklace that glimmered like the moonlight.

Kinomoto held the wireless mic like an expert, her stance casual. Once the intro sounded, she took a step back and sang:

_I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know where it goes  
But it's home to me and I walk alone _

_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
and I'm the only one and I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I'm walking down the line  
That divides me somewhere in my mind  
On the border line  
Of the edge and where I walk alone_

_Read between the lines  
What's fucked up and everything's alright  
Check my vital signs  
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone..._

_

* * *

_

Kinomoto slowly lowered the mic away from her mouth. She paced around the stage, listening to the beautiful guitar intro of the next song. Closing her eyes briefly, she softly sang:

_I do what he says but I  
End up falling off the edge  
I don't know what to do, it seems  
To end up being true  
Seeps in underneath the door  
Sinks in and stains the floor  
All alone, want to feel, takes so long  
For these wounds to heal  
Tell me it's not really real _

_Fallen through  
Why did I fall for you  
Fallen for  
All the lies, alibis, that you said  
Left me holding on by the last thread_

_Stop, stare, and watch me burn  
Someday it'll be your turn  
Can't fool me, I can see all the things  
That you don't want me to see  
You threw my heart away  
That's the price that I paid  
Although it's never fair, promised me  
You'd always be there  
But you never really cared_

_Fallen through  
Why did I fall for you  
Fallen for  
All the lies, alibis, that you said  
Left me holding on by the last thread_

_Fallen through  
Why did I fall for you  
Fallen for  
All the lies, alibis, that you said  
Left me holding on by the last thread_

_Fallen through  
Why did I fall for you  
Fallen for  
All the lies, alibis, that you said  
Left me holding on by the last thread _

_

* * *

_

She let the last note die. I was amazed. While she sang, it seemed as if she poured her soul out to us onstage. Mizuki-san, who was sitting beside Meiling, clasped Ling Ling's hand tightly, tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to fall. Meiling herself looked saddened, as if she had heard the truth coming from the two songs and the melodic voice singing them.

But that's not possible. It's just a song that tells the story of the impossible.

The impossible.

I knew they were impressed; they just didn't want to admit that the kaijuu, out of all people, could sing like a rock star. Or a pop star, or, well... you get the point.

But now that I think about it, Kinomoto is full of surprises. Even her best friend can't read her like a book.

_Her emerald-green eyes seem haunted, as if she knows too much about the world and life in general._

_Her melodic voice seems to penetrate the very soul, especially if she analyzes you to the very core._

_Her slender fingers seem to work wonders, producing a steady stream of extraordinary work._

_But most of all, her intelligent, perceptive, cryptic mind seems to be the source of it all._

_Her mind can read any person like a book, see any person to their very core, and find any answer she's looking for._

But underneath the icy cold exterior, sometimes I see glimpses of the person Kinomoto used to be, and may never be again.

Pain, sadness, tragedy, disaster.

Has she really been through so much pain?

I wonder...

* * *

Hey! This was a long chapter, I think. Anyway, Eriol's just telling you about the horrible talent show and the really stunning finale. He's also reflection on how Sakura's an enigma, a puzzle that can never be put together. Since he used to be an outcast too, he can more easily seen the hidden pain Sakura has since Eriol used to be an expert on hiding pain.

What's up with Eriol calling Meiling "Ling Ling"? Well, at school I recently aquired the nickname Ling-Ling and I just HADto put it in there.

Answer to a reviewer's question that I forgot to answer.

Tomoyo in chapter twelve said at the end that the author of that little passage must have been perceptive. The reviewer wanted to know if that ment Tomoyo isn't perceptive.

Tomoyo is perceptive as she usually is portrayed. The deal with Sakura is that she has been masking her feelings for nine years and is very good at not betraying her emotions the slightest, so it's harder to tell what's going through her mind.

I hope that you still enjoy my fic. Please review!

-Callista Miralni


	14. Hidden Talent

Fallen Through

Okay, minna-san, you want me to write longer chapters. You want me to update regularly.

I want to update regularly and I want a decent story that's different.

I can't exactly give you longer chapters without cliffhangers, or chapters without cliffhangers at all.

So you have a choice: update regularly with shorter chapters or update once every two weeks with long chapters.

Let me know in your review.

Thanks!

I just want to know because I want some direction in how I should write chapters. It's hard to write longer chapters because it all comes from inspiration. And I'm busy.

Anyway, here's a hopefully long and decent chapter for you guys. (Eyes Greenleaf Blossom, FlowerLover, miz-annonymouz04, and Mary33 suspiciously out of the corner of my eye, hoping they won't kill me for short chapters.)

Dedicated to the faithful and the faithless.

* * *

-Chapter 15-  
-Revelations: Hidden Talent-  
-Syaoran-

Listening to her sing was a comforting and yet familiar experience.

I could have sworn she looked exactly like a rock star onstage.

But where have I seen that casual stance? The baggy outfit? Where have I heard that voice?

According to students who have gone to school with Kinomoto, they had never heard her sing solo.

But that voice...it was like any professional singer who can actually sing.

Time for a little investigation.

And no one can hide anything from me.

* * *

-The Next Day-

When I arrived at school the next day, all students were talking about was the release of Sakura Athene's latest CD, Hidden Secrets. She was an excellent singer; she really does have an amazing voice.

Meiling gave me an article about the young singer later on in the day. When I got home, I pulled out _Tomoeda Talks_ magazine, an elusive magazine that nobody really reads. There, on page 32, was a huge picture of Sakura Athene. I studied her face closely. You could tell she was wearing light green eye shadow, a light blush, and shimmering clear lip-gloss. She smiled without showing her teeth, and her emerald eyes sparkled in the light. I read the article on the next page. It said:

* * *

_Hidden Secrets: Sakura Athene Miralni  
By: Akizuki Nakuru_

_Young Japanese pop star takes the charts at number one again! With the release of her latest album, Hidden Secrets, it clear that Sakura Athene Miralni, or Sakura Athene, is ensured a successful future if she continues in the music industry._

_However, not much is known about the young singer. There are many things about her that are shrouded in mystery. However, in a recent interview,_ Tomoeda Talks, _managed to get the young artist to tell a little bit more about herself._

_T: So, Sakura Athene, do you plan on making any more platinum records?_

_SA: I do plan on recording some more albums but my music comes from my heart and soul. I don't try to create platinum record music, it just happens._

_T: Are you currently enrolled in a school?_

_SA: Yes, I am. I go to Seijuu High._

_T: Do you often get swarmed by fans at school?_

_SA: No, not really. I try to stay hidden in the shadows._

_T: Are you currently interested in someone?_

_SA: Me? Not in this lifetime!_

_T: So you're not really like other girls?_

_SA: What do you mean? _

_T: Like you're not all boy crazy._

_SA: Oh that. Well, I believe that everybody's unique. They just choose not to fully be themselves._

_T: So you have a philosopher's side too, huh_

_SA: Yeah. It comes from habit._

_T: Can I ask you a personal question?_

_SA: Well, that depends on the question._

_T: Do you have any siblings?_

_SA: Yeah, I have an older brother, who's really annoying and overprotective._

_T: When's your birthday?_

_SA: Mine? August 13_

_T: How old are you really? You look so young, many sources say you are twelve, others thirteen, and yet another eleven!_

_SA: Well, I prefer not to reveal my age. It helps keep away stalkers. But, I'm older than you think I am._

_T: What do you like to do in your spare time?_

_SA: I like to read, play video games, watch TV, go outside, and listen to music. Not my own music, though._

_T: Oh, it looks like we're out of time. Thanks for the interview and I wish you luck with your successful career._

_SA: Hey, it was nice to meet you too. Thanks for inviting me._

* * *

I stared at the article. It seemed the young singer wasn't like other pop stars, full of themselves and always flaunting. Well, not all pop stars are like that, but a lot of them are. She just seemed like a normal person.

I wonder...

"Hey Li-kun!"

Watanabe Mika called my name. I hurriedly stuffed Meiling's article in my locker, before turning to answer her.

"Watanabe."

She looked at me coyly. "I heard you're in Kenji's Morality class. And you're in a group with the kaijuu."

I tuned her out by the third word. "Uh huh."

"Must be terrible to have to work with her." The girl continued. "You'd probably be terrified all the time that she'd kill you during class."

"Totally. Scared shitless. She's such an ice bitch." I answered half-heartedly.

Watanabe softly drew circles on my arm. "You know... you could always intimidate her to obey."

That startled me. "Like what?"

She smiled cruelly. "Blackmail. I know where to get all the blackmail on Kinomoto Sakura. An extremely reliable source."

I doubted it.

"Yeah, you just send me your contact whenever I feel like I have to whip her back into shape. You know how rebellious outcasts are- they never want to obey the rules of society. That's what makes them rebels." I said in an effort to get her off my back.

I heard a book drop and someone swear. Turning around to help them, I picked up the book and handed it back to its owner.

"Ice bitch huh?" She repeated coldly.

I held out her book dumbly. "What?"

"Don't play games with me Li. I don't have the time or the patience to put up with you and your ego." Kinomoto snapped before she snatched her book from me and walked away.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" I hollered at her. "I WAS ONLY KIDDING! I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET HER OFF MY BACK!"

She stopped, turned around and gave me a "Go to hell" look.

I slouched, visibly defeated.

Damn it.

* * *

-Sakura-

I sat in my little clearing with my cards in my hands. The Sakura Cards will tell me all that I need to know.

The Sakura Cards are a special deck of Tarot cards I created myself. There are 54 cards, instead of the standard 72 (or however many there are), and instead of the standard suit, cards were individualized and tied to the Chinese elements and the concept of ying and yang. My own unique creation, its meanings understood only by myself.

I pulled out six cards: Light, Dark, Fiery, Watery, Earthy, and Windy. Shuffling the six cards with my right hand, I laid them out facedown on the ground in a 2x3 pattern.

Closing my eyes, I chose any three cards. Flipping them over, my eyes widened in shock and fear. I stared at the cards, silently interpreting them.

Light: Hope and love are there.

Earthy: Logic and nature shall guide you.

Windy: Someone knows you are there.

Someone knows about my secret. Someone knows outside the circle knows the truth.

Growling in annoyance, I flipped open my phone and dialed a long-memorized number.

"Yes Sakura-san?"

"Yuki-" I snapped. "Conduct an investigation. Make it quick. I want to know of any possible leaks in the security system and who's been snooping around. I have a feeling someone's been doing some research on Sakura Athene."

My cousin cleared his throat. "Any suspects?"

My gaze slipped out of focus, watching the koi swim in circles. "Try Daidouji Tomoyo, Hiiragizawa Eriol, Rae Meiling, and Li Syaoran. Watch for their trail especially."

"What about _her_?"

I focused my angry glare at a nearby squirrel. It squeaked in terror, scampering up into its arbor nest.

"You know to always check for _her_ Yukito."

My cousin hung up the phone after reassuring me that he would take care of any possible leak. Turning around, I stared at the pool of water near my clearing.

"This will succeed. No one will ever know." I said coldly. The wind blew through my hair, as if it were reassuring me that everything would be all right.

But everything was not all right.

No, nothing at all.

* * *

Hey! Long enough for you?

I hope so. It took FOREVER to do!

Review please.


	15. Monday's for Meiling

Fallen Through

By: Callista Mirani

Disclaimer: See my hands? They have nothing in them, except for the story plot of this fic. I own what's in my hands.

Thanks to all my faithful and supportive reviewers!

I'm kinda depressed that most of my reviews are from the same person. That's not a bad thing, it lets me know who's still reading the story. But if you ever get the chance, please recommend my fic to someone who you think will enjoy it.

I dedicate this chapter to **FlowerLover**, one of my most faithful reviewers. Arigatou gozaimasu for sticking with my story!

* * *

-Chapter 16-  
-Birthday: Monday's for Meiling-  
-Sakura-

Yuki reported back to me in exactly one hour. His search proved futile, yielding nothing more than your stereotypical teenager's obsessive curiosity with their favorite idol.

I rubbed my eyes, sighing in exhaustion. Intuition has never failed me before, so despite Yuki's misgivings, he consented to keeping an open eye out for anything that may ping the dubbed "Sakura radar." That meant wire taps on phone lines, intercepted Internet searches and cell phone calls, and x-ray mail screening on the five suspects.

I ignored the guilt building in my stomach. It seems that in the six weeks we've been working on the "friendship project," there have been changes. Changes that I don't necessarily want, but it happen anyway.

I always thought that Daidouji was a stuck-up goody-goody, but she's not. She's just a girl who is popular because she is herself. I remembered when she came to school with a skateboard under her arm and Meiling at her side with a board of her own; the stares people gave her were priceless.

Hiiragizawa, even though he was a fellow outcast, I never really knew before. I knew he was smart, but that was it. Now look at him; girls swoon when he walks by, and sickly beg for his help on homework. He's still as kind as I always heard him rumored to be.

I've known Meiling for a lifetime, but fame and fortune hasn't changed my best friend. She still cares so much for me. The other day, she slapped some jock teasing me as I walked by him in the hallway.

But Li's a problem.

I swear to Kami-sama he's a hypocrite. Either that he's bipolar.

During class, he's always so nice to me but out of class, he's the WORST baka on the face of the earth.

I swear he has issues.

The ONLY time Li's nice to me is when we're around our group-mates. Is he trying to prove something?

Yeah right.

He's a stuck-up, controversial bipolar hypocrite who seriously needs to set his priorities right.

Teasing me in front of the "popular group" is so childish and shouldn't be on ANYONE'S priority list.

Oh, but they're out to get me.

They're all out to get me.

* * *

-Eriol-

I felt another presence, but where's it coming from?

Shrugging it off, I turned around to face my cousin, Akizuki Nakuru.

"So Nakuru, how's Yukito?" I casually asked her.

"Yukito? Oh, things are going great between us. He's so sweet and kind plus he's a great gardener!" Nakuru gushed excitedly to her younger cousin.

"Do you know a Kinomoto Sakura? I believe she's Yukito's cousin." I carefully inquired.

My cousin's tanned face turned slightly pale at Kinomoto's name. "No, I don't."

I studied her carefully. It was hard to tell if she was telling the truth. In the end, I accepted the fact that Nakuru didn't know Kinomoto, even if she was dating her cousin.

"Oyasumi nasai, Nakuru-chan." I said, going upstairs to my room in my parents' large mansion.

Things were going very interesting indeed.

* * *

-Monday, the first day-

A seven o'clock, my cell phone rang, chiming the notes to Beethoven's Fur Elise. I answered it, only to find Daidouji calling me. What did she want at seven in the morning?

"Moshi moshi, Eriol desu."

"_Ohayo Hiiragizawa-san._" her soft voice said on the other end.

"Please, we're friends aren't we? Call me Eriol."

"_Hai, Eriol. I just called to remind you that today starts the week of the surprise present giving. Don't forget that you said you'd give Kinomoto something tomorrow._"

"I won't Daidouji-san."

"_Please call me Tomoyo._" My heart soared when I heard this. Then I immediately scolded myself. It was just a friendly gesture.

If it was a friendly gesture, then why was I so happy?

Maybe because I earned her friendship?

"Okay, Tomoyo. I'll see you at school. Ja."

"_Ja ne, Eriol._" The line went dead.

I grabbed my lunch on the counter, kissed my mom goodbye and set out for school on the beautiful March morning. Today, March 28, was a beautiful and wonderful day.

I only hope it will stay that way.

* * *

-Syaoran-

I got to school earlier than usual that day. For some reason, almost everyone I knew was already on campus.

Or do I just come later than everyone else does on a normal day that isn't today?

Riku spotted the familiar head of auburn walking across the school grounds. "Hey kaijuu! How many babies have you eaten today?"

The group laughed except for me. I watched her carefully.

Another junior spoke up. "Did you dance around a candle, summoning evil forces to do your evil deeds? Oooh! Oooh!" He wiggled around like a limp noodle, eliciting laughter from all of us.

Her green eyes hardened but she said nothing, rooted to the same spot.

"You guys, you know she doesn't do any of that stuff." I finally said.

Her eyes flickered towards me in surprise.

"Because she's too much of a cold-hearted bitch to give a damn about anyone and curse them. Besides, no one really gives a damn about her either."

Riku howled in laughter and gave me a high-five. "So true man! So true!"

I smiled in spite of the hollow gnawing feeling in my stomach. This was my world, my world of crazy stunts, wild parties, and...

... unending guilt.

SMACK!

I looked at her in surprise. How could such a tiny body contain that much strength and force?

"You're an asshole." Kinomoto hissed at me before she turned and walked away, ignoring the several threats that followed in her wake.

"What are you going to do about it- glare me to death?" I shouted back.

I didn't know what overcame me- I was seized by the sudden mad desire to break her into a million little pieces.

She stopped in her tracks, turning around slowly to face me.

"What the hell is your problem?" She advanced nearer.

"What the hell is yours?" I snapped back, meeting her halfway.

We were practically nose to nose.

I spoke again. "You know the guys are just kidding; why do you let them get to you like that? Or is it true? Do you do some strange voodoo magic to seek revenge on the people you hate?"

She snarled, "That's utter bullshit and you know it Li."

"What about Amai Kaorin? Were you so jealous of her that you had to get her expelled? You're a liar, a certified schizophrenic freak, worthy of your kaijuu title."

Kinomoto froze, staring at me with wide green eyes. "How did you-"

"So it's true then?" I taunted. "You do some crazy voodoo shit to pull stunts like that. Wake up Kinomoto! We're not in the Dark Ages anymore!"

SMACK!

Turning my head to face her again, I began to laugh. "Is that all you can do without your 'voodoo' powers, witch?"

Raising her hand to slap me again, I decided to be smart this time and utilize my childhood martial arts training to catch her hand. Leaning forward, I audibly whispered in her ear:

"I'm not fooled Kinomoto Sakura. Your bitchy-ness is only a cover for your insecurities. You're wrong. I know exactly who I am; it's you who doesn't know who she is."

She said nothing in response. I assumed it to be true and continued with my tirade.

"You are nothing. You could never be as good as me so why do you bother trying? It doesn't fit you. Give up and go bother someone else who cares. Nobody here wants you, can't you tell?"

I released her. She took a step back, glaring at me.

SMACK!

"I fucking hate you Li Syaoran."

I brought one hand to my reddening cheek and dared to glance back at her retreating form.

"Nice man! Serves her right- you put that woman in her place!" Riku crowed.

I grinned widely, ignoring the stabbing pain in my cheek.

Holy shit that hurt.

* * *

-Eriol-

When I walked into school, I walked past an extremely pissed Kinomoto-san. Confused as to what could make her tick on this beautiful day, I walked up to Syaoran, who was grinning widely and his eyes were sparkling with unheard laughter.

"What's up with Kinomoto?" I asked, jerking my thumb to point over my shoulder.

"Hmm... well, it could be the fact that she's never gonna be as cool as me." Syaoran answered smugly.

My sapphire eyes grew wide at my best friend's answer. "Please don't tell me you got into a yelling match with her." I pleaded my friend.

"Yeah, and she deserved it. A lot." was his smug reply.

"Syaoran, how could you?" I said, my blood running cold. He looked at me quizzically, so I continued my little rant. "You're supposed to be her friend. Friends don't put each other hurtfully down."

He dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, well it's payback for all the times she's been so cold and unfriendly when I haven't done anything!" Syaoran exclaimed heatedly.

"Have you ever thought she has a reason for that?" I asked him quietly. I saw Tomoyo waving to me a distance behind Syaoran. "Eriol! Come here please!" she called.

"I have pressing business elsewhere. Excuse me." I told him icily. I ran over to where Tomoyo was standing. Looking beside her, I saw my cousin Meiling next to Tomoyo. "What are you doing here Meiling?"

"This year's my off year. My mom said I could spend my off year in Tomoeda with Sakura. So I enrolled in your school because I liked the campus and the students when I visited for the talent show." she said happily. She scanned the area. "Where's Sakura?" she asked.

"She's in class already, as she usually is. She doesn't spend the thirty minute free period outside. Kinomoto-san stays in the library or the classroom studying." Tomoyo answered.

"Oh." Meiling looked saddened by Tomoyo's answer.

"Cheer up, you'll see her first hour." I said encouragingly.

"Where's Syaoran?" she asked, once again looking around for her close cousin.

I stiffened. "He's over there, hanging with the hypocrites." I muttered darkly.

"Syaoran's not a hypocrite!" Meiling cried heatedly.

"You'd be so surprised, Meiling." another voice said from behind us. There standing beside the nearby cherry tree, was the kaijuu, Kinomoto Sakura, her arms crossed angrily in front of her chest and her green eyes narrowed in anger.

"What's up Kura? Why the angry face?" Meiling inquired, surprised that her best friend was even there.

"Your baka cousin's a reason why I'm so pissed." Kinomoto snapped. Meiling looked taken aback. Her ruby eyes betrayed concern for the younger girl.

"He's not always-" Meiling tried to say, but was cut off by an angry outburst from Kinomoto

"_He's not always like that_! He's a stuck-up, controversial bipolar hypocritical idiot asshole who thinks he's _so _cute and attractive and has the world bending to his every will!"

"Why thank you _kaijuu_ for the lovely compliments. I must say I admire your vocabulary skills." a new voice said. It turned out to be none other than Syaoran, smirking as usual.

"Leave. Now." Kinomoto said dangerously.

"We shouldn't fight so early in the morning." Tomoyo said disapprovingly, looking pointedly at Syaoran.

"Where's Sakura?" Meiling asked quizzically. We looked around the area.

She was nowhere in sight.

"She doesn't have the guts to take me on." Syaoran boasted. Meiling glared at him.

"Okay maybe I was wrong, Eriol. He _is_ a hypocrite. I can't believe you would do that to my best friend!" Meiling said, barely keeping the anger out of her voice. She turned on heel and walked away, Tomoyo following after her.

Is it just me, or is Tomoyo hanging around us more often?

_Concentrate on the issue at hand, Eriol! _My mind screamed at me.

"Geez, what's with girls today? They are like bombs or landmines, so sensitive and touchy." Syaoran joked.

I looked at him strangely. Girls and landmines related? Yeah right.

"Maybe it's you." I said quietly.

"Oh not you too Eriol man! Come on, she's just moody."

"No, I seriously think it's you." I turned around and ran after Tomoyo and Meiling, leaving my best friend under the cherry tree, stunned and shocked by my words.

_It was worth it._ I told myself. _He rescued me from the outcasts. I'm going to do my best to rescue her._ I stole a glance at Tomoyo. Her eyes showed determination and a hidden message.

A message that I could read.

She wanted to bring Kinomoto into the light of friendship. All those times I caught her wanting to talk to Kinomoto, all those times I saw unspoken admiration for Kinomoto, all those kind words, _she wanted to be her friend_.

Meiling, who has always been Kinomoto's best friend, always wants to help her anyway possible.

"Hey you guys? Will you help me do something?" Meiling asked us quietly.

"Sure. What is it?" Tomoyo answered warmly.

"I want you to help me bring Sakura to the world that we live in."

* * *

I'm so evil. Hey, in a few minutes (or hour, depending on thought inspiration) you'll have the answers that Eriol and Tomoyo are going to give Meiling.

Isn't Syaoran mean? I know I haven't done much dialog and scenes with the characters, but the last five chapters were entitled _revelations_, which meant that some secrets were going to be revealed. I know the two different personalities of Syaoran were a little disconnected, but I hope that in later chapters you'll be able to understand. He's not schizophrenic, he just acts differently around different people. He sure knows how to tick Sakura off.

I'm finally getting somewhere on the developing friendships! Aren't you proud of me? (Smiles really big) Eriol and Tomoyo are finally on a first name basis. Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling are cousins and best friends so they already are on a first name basis. Meiling and Tomoyo have met before and began calling each other on a first name basis a long time ago (actually it was only a week and a half...).

The only one left is Sakura, who only Kaho and Meiling call her by her first name.

This is gonna take a _long_time. It's all about trust.

Ahh! I must stop spoiling to fic for you! I've revealed too much already!

I hope this chapter was long enough for you. I'm still promising a rather long fic.

Callista Miralni-


	16. Into the Light

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Disclaimer:...Who ever said I owned anything?

'Sup minna-san! Callie here, back with another installment of 'Fallen Through.' This is merely a continuation of the previous chapter, since I had a severe writer's block last night; -.-

There is something seriously wrong! Does anybody, besides faithful **FlowerLover **and **tHouGht buBbLes**, read my fic? Please drop a review in the mailbox when you leave!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present 'Fallen Through!'

* * *

-Chapter 17-  
-Birthday: Into the Light-  
-Eriol-

_"I want you to help me bring Sakura to the world that we live in."_

Meiling's words echoed in my mind. I heard Tomoyo accepting to help my cousin, and I found myself agreeing to help Meiling. Tomoyo shot me a quizzical look.

"Eriol-kun, didn't you say this was going to be a difficult and delicate task a few weeks ago? Why the sudden change?" she asked me.

I looked at her softly. The memories of our junior year flowed through my mind. Syaoran talking to me, Syaoran defending me, Syaoran reaching out to me… I gave her a small smile.

"Because it's worth it."

* * *

-Somewhere else-

Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, and Jade glared angrily at the whispering trio a good distance away.

"They're trying to take Tomoyo away from us! She has been so distant since the Morality Project began!" Chiharu said angrily.

Jade's cell phone rang, "Excuse me, I need to answer this." She got up and dashed away, hiding in a secluded spot near the building.

Under the open window of a certain Mizuki Kaho.

"Hello? Who's this?" she asked.

"_Jade, it's Kaorin._"

"What's up sis?"

"_Nothing much. Can you do me a favor?_"

"Sure. What is it?"

"_I'm sending our older brother to Seijuu High. Make sure Kinomoto meets him._"

"But why Kinomoto? She's absolutely nothing. She has no status, no power, no-"

"_Just trust me Jade. He's coming next week._"

The bell rang. "I gotta go to class, Kaorin. Ja ne."

"_Ja. And don't forget Jade._"

She closed her cell phone, grabbed her bag, and hurried to class. Kaho looked out the window, thinking about the conversation she just overheard.

Amai Kaorin spelt trouble for Sakura. A lot of trouble.

The halfway mark of the semester is on Friday, Sakura's birthday.

But what was Kaorin up to now? Kaho couldn't let her walk all over the girl she loved like a little sister.

But since Meiling was here, maybe Sakura would be okay.

Maybe her nightmare would end.

* * *

-Sakura-

I sat in AP English, bored as always, listening to Mihira-sensei at the bare minimum.

"Today you are going to compose a poem about faith. It is to be completed at the end of class and to be turned in at the end of class today. You have forty minutes. Begin."

I took out a pen and a piece of paper. I wrote my name at the top of it, and thought for a while. Picking up my pen again, I wrote:

_I have no faith.  
What for? It serves me no purpose.  
Yet, as I approached the year of turning,  
I was amidst a crisis.  
A crisis-  
That changed everything.  
I found a friend.  
Someone I could trust.  
I place my life in their trust.  
I found faith.  
Faith serves me well.  
I still am suspicious and cautious;  
But you can come to me and trust me,  
And I have faith that you will succeed._

I stared, dazed, at the poem I had written in five minutes.

Where did that come from?

Looking around, I saw that most of the other students were still struggling with their poems.

Getting up from my seat, I walked towards the sensei's desk and handed her my poem. She smiled at me as she read through the work.

"Great job, as always Sakura." She whispered to me. I nodded my head and returned to my seat.

I had thirty minutes to kill, so I got up again and asked if I could go to Kaho's office. Mihira-sensei gave her permission and I exited the classroom quietly.

Walking quickly down the hall, I found myself at Kaho's door once again. I admitted myself and Kaho greeted me warmly.

"What's up Kura? Aren't you in English?" she asked me.

"Yeah, it's timed poem writing. I finished in the first five minutes though." I answered, rolling my eyes and taking a seat on the couch.

"How are you holding up?" she asked me quietly. My emerald eyes betrayed the sadness I often felt.

"I'm okay, for now. I just don't know what to do Kaho! Everyday seems like a living nightmare, every week, every hour! She's always there, watching me from the shadows, spreading and feeding the lies she started in seventh grade." I cried angrily.

"_In darkness do the shadows lie, in desperation and in hate. Only those with courage try to conquer those without a fate_." Kaho quoted from one of my poems.

I became lost in my thoughts. Of course that's why Kaorin hates me. She's only a shadow in my presence. I know I'm analytical and a tad bit unnerving but you don't know how much you reveal to me by your actions, your words, your personality.

I don't know how my philosophy in life shows up in my poems and stories. They just do. I rarely ever try to make a poem; the words just flow from my pen, dictating on paper what my mind says.

It's the same with my music.

Who would ever suspect that I, Kinomoto Sakura, would ever be the famous, multi-platinum recording artist, Sakura Athene Miralni?

The public thinks we're two complete opposites. But we're not.

I show one side of my personality as Sakura Kinomoto. I show my other side as Sakura Miralni.

I'm not schizophrenic either. Unlike a certain little baka whose name is _cough_**Li**_cough_.

I made a face. Kaho noticed it and looked at me puzzled. I said, "What?"

"What's with the look on your face, Kura?" she asked.

I made another face. "It's nothing. I just remembered something unpleasant."

The bell rang. Thank the Kami-sama for the lunch hour. Which was really an hour.

"Ja ne Kaho. I'll see you Saturday. You are coming to my concert, right?" I whispered to her.

Kaho smiled. "Of course Sakura. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

I gave her a tiny, grateful smile and left for my locker, thinking of the salmon sashimi Otou-san packed for lunch in an ice cold container.

* * *

-Meiling-

"So you want me to put a present in her locker?" I asked Tomoyo in disbelief. This is crazy! Who would do such a stupid thing?

She looked at me and said, "Yes," with determination in her eyes.

"You're lucky I have a CD that I was going to give Sakura for her birthday in my backpack." I said, thinking it was lucky that something caused me to bring the disc to school.

Tomoyo's amethyst eyes sparkled with delight. "Really? Oh wow, what a stroke of good luck!" she said.

She gave me a pen and a small square of paper. I wrote:

_Dear Sakura,_

_  
It's your birthday!  
Enjoy Hidden Secrets by Sakura Athene._

_From Your Secret Friend_

I placed the note in the CD cover, opened Sakura's locker, and propped it up against the neat pile of books.

"Whatcha doin'?" a voice suddenly said.

Tomoyo and I screamed and shut Sakura's locker. When we turned around, it turned out to be none other than Eriol, smiling as always.

"Give me a good reason why I should kill you and ship you home in a milk carton." I threatened him, clenching my fist.

"Meiling, would you really do that? I'm your favorite cousin!" Eriol protested. His drama was way over the top.

I thought about it for a while and said grudgingly, "Okay, you ARE my favorite cousin since my FORMER favorite cuz seriously needs to get a life."

Eriol smiled broadly. "See, I told-"

"Don't push your luck." I snapped back.

Tomoyo giggled. "You guys are funny."

"Do you like hanging around us Tomoyo? You hang around us more than you do your friends." Eriol softly asked her.

I looked at both of them in surprise. She has other friends- friends she hangs around with more than us? I wouldn't have known that; judging from the close bond between Tomoyo and Eriol, I assumed they had been good friends for a while.

Tomoyo squirmed under our gaze. "I do like hanging around you guys. Life's more upbeat and enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with Chiharu and the others, it's just that, I don't know, I don't think we're as close and as best of friends as we think we are. It's kinda boring talking about the same thing over and over again." she admitted quietly.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You seriously need to get a life." I told her. Then, my smile brightened up.

"What?" Eriol asked.

"I have three extra tickets to see the concert at Tomoeda Gardens on Saturday. You wanna come?" I asked, bouncing up and down.

"Sure. Who's performing?" Tomoyo asked, the serious atmosphere disappearing.

"Sakura Athene Miralni!"

* * *

-Sakura-

I walked upstairs to my locker and saw that Meiling, Hiiragizawa, and Daidouji were not too far away. I opened my locker hurriedly and found a CD propped up against my neat pile of books. My eyes widened.

It was none other than my own copy of my own record _Hidden Secrets._

I tucked the CD into my backpack, grabbed my lunch and joined Meiling and the others.

"Hey you guys." I said, announcing my presence.

"Oh hey, Sakura. Are you busy Saturday? Do you want to see the Sakura Athene concert?" Meiling asked me, waving four tickets in my face.

My heart stopped for a moment. I couldn't go to the concert; I was concert!

I smiled weakly. "Gomen Meiling-chan, but I can't go. My dad is having a dinner with an important guest and I have to stay home."

My tomodachi smiled sadly, "Oh that's okay. I'll ask Syaoran if he wants to come."

"Are we friends Kinomoto-san?" Daidouji asked me suddenly. We had arrived under the cherry tree, the same one where this morning's incident had taken place.

I paused for a moment, taking a bite of my sushi. "I guess so. Why?" I asked her suspiciously. Something was up.

"May I call you Sakura? You can call me Tomoyo." she innocently answered with a smile.

I studied her suspiciously and said nothing. Her smile dropped.

I half-heartedly listened to Hiiragizawa, Daidouji, and Meiling talk about music and the biggest idiots they know in their lives. I know who the biggest baka is in mine: Li Syaoran.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. We packed up our lunches and headed towards our lockers.

"I'll see you later, Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol." I called over my shoulder as I walked to Morality.

* * *

-Tomoyo-

"I'll see you later, Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol." she called over her shoulder as she walked to Religion.

My heart soared. Did that mean we finally earned her trust? Or did it mean that she trusted us enough to be able to call her by her first name?

Either way, I was happy.

"Oh wow, she let you call you by her first name." Meiling whispered, shocked.

"I can't believe it." Eriol said, his sapphire eyes wide with disbelief.

"We're all friends now!" I cried joyfully.

"Yeah, all of us except for one." Eriol said bitterly.

We looked at each other.

"Li Syaoran." We all sighed and walked to our next class together.

If it wasn't for Meiling, Sakura wouldn't have opened up as much as she did. If it wasn't for Meiling, a lot of good things today wouldn't have happened.

I guess after all, Monday's for Meiling.

* * *

Yay! I'm getting somewhere in life. It took SEVENTEEN chapters for Sakura to open up and allow herself to make new friends.

Review please! More reviews mean more chapters, faster!

Ja ne!  
-Callista Miralni-


	17. Eriol Tuesday

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer:... why is everybody staring at me? What did I do? I am a law abiding citizen!

Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I especially want to extend my thanks to **jbg** for the many reviews and **arcana caelestia **for informing me on how I could improve on the story.

I am very sorry for the late update; I ran into certain _issues_ with... things. I would like to inform all of my readers that I am fully aware that the chapter entitled 'Explanations' has vanished and was instead placed at the beginning of Chapter Six. I am also fully aware that the story jumps from Chapter Four to Chapter Six. I assure all of my readers that I can count, despite my hopless ability in math. All my chapters before corresponded to the "chapter number" but since 'Explanations' was taken out by the system, I will have confusedly informed you, the reader, that "Chapter Five" is really the REAL Chapter Five and Chapter Six combined together.

This is exactly what arcana caelestia told me; my story is confusing at some points. I assure you, by the time the end comes, all will be crystal clear (I think).

* * *

-Anyway, Chapter 18-  
-Birthday: Eriol Tuesday-  
-Syaoran-  
-Monday afterschool-

Eriol's been avoiding me all day because of the little incident with Kinomoto. He's way too overprotective of her.

So all day I hung out with the popular kids. It wasn't as fun as hanging out with Eriol though.

Man, I really screwed up.

And my cheek still hurts.

Okay, I'll admit that I was kind of a jerk to her. And an ass. I kind of regret saying all those stuff to Kinomoto. Maybe Eriol's right. Maybe she really does have a reason for acting the way she does.

The phone rang in my room so I answered it. It turned out to be none other than Meiling. Why bother calling me when you live next door?

"Hey Syaoran, do you wanna go to a concert?" she asked me. It sounded like she already forgave me for this morning.

"Sure. When, where, who's singing?" I prompted my cousin.

"Saturday at seven, Tomoeda Gardens, Sakura Athene Miralni." she answered quickly.

"How'd you get tickets to her concert?!" I demanded, knowing that it was sold out.

"Her grandfather's company, Amamiya Tech, sponsors me in my gym meets. I got four free tickets." she answered lightly. I never knew Meiling had that kind of connections.

"Sure, I'll come." I answered, rifling through my fridge. "Who else is coming?"

"Well, I invited Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura."

"But you have no ticket." I pointed out bluntly.

"I'm not done talking. Sakura couldn't come." She answered.

"Oh." I said quietly, feeling like a replacement.

"Listen Meiling, I'm sorry for earlier. I wasn't thinking straight. I was only messing around with Kinomoto."

"Don't do it anymore." Meiling said, her voice chilling my spine.

"But that's so hard to do! Not with all the pressure, not from my position in school!" I burst out.

"She's delicate at this moment in time. I don't know why or how to fix this but she's endured this for seven years." Meiling answered quietly.

"Seven years? But how..." the phone clicked and the line went dead.

* * *

-Sakura-

Sitting in the security room Yukito had set up in the mansion, I growled in annoyance as I heard the Li cousins' conversation through a pair of Bose headphones, watching them on a split flickering monitor through the hidden cameras Yuki set up while we were at school pointed directly onto their corded home phones.

"Cut it off." I snarled.

Yuki pushed a button that instantaneously cut the connection between the two lines and held them up for another two hours. My cousin gave me a curious glance, silently questioning my sudden attack of paranoia.

I watched with hardened emerald eyes as Li stared bewildered at the phone before hanging the machine back onto its cradle. At the wave of my hand, Yuki disconnected the power to the monitors and the screen went dark. I turned away from them and ventured outside into the yard. I climbed into my hammock, lying on my back as I stared at the night sky that wasn't covered by my jade green canopy of leaves.

The stars reminded me so much of the secrets my life has held for fifteen years. Do you want to know some? Here's one of the most confusing one of all:

My father is a multi-dollar billionaire archaeologist and professor. When he and my mother were engaged, he bought a huge piece of land, two acres of green land, and built a humongous, luxurious mansion on half an acre of land. With one acre, my mother grew the plants and designed the landscape you see today on my slightly terraced backyard. The result was a beautiful green maze of gardens and waterfalls.

Now you ask: 'What happened to the last half acre?'

For privacy protection, my father built a modest yellow two story home with a sixty-four square foot backyard. Not very big, I'll tell you that. He built a wooden fence with a secret gate between the mansion and its property and the modest house and its small yard. It was no small coincidence that he chose a plot of land that was right between the borderline of the wealthy class neighborhood and the middle class neighborhood.

It gets even more confusing. Do you remember three weeks ago, when Meiling came to visit? She thinks I permanently live in the modest two story home. Technically, it is one of my homes but to me, home is always the mansion on the other side of the wooden fence. Dad registered my address at school at this little house, so in the directory, the address to the small home is listed under my name. I just so happened to be there when Meiling came by to my "house."

My cousin Yukito and his family rent out the small house from my dad. So, it's not empty all the time. In short, what I'm trying to tell you is that I have two houses, a huge mansion and a modest home. The mansion is where the elusive singer, Sakura Athene lives in happiness and comfort. The house is where the outcast Sakura Celeste lives in misery and anger.

Sighing once more for the umpteenth time in my life, I rolled out of the hammock and walked wearily to my room in the _mansion_. After all, I had to be ready for another day.

* * *

-The Next Day, Tuesday-

Eriol arrived at school the moment the doors opened at 7:15. He snuck quietly through the halls until he reached the locker of a certain girl. Eriol slipped his hand into his backpack and pulled out three items: a purple notebook with silver stars, a pen that wrote a rose pink color, and a brown teddy bear with cream colored paws, stomach, muzzle, and ears. Positioning the bear so that it held the notebook and pen (which was tied together with a silver ribbon) Eriol arranged the items until it was to his liking. He smiled and pulled one last thing from his backpack. Eriol gently set the typewritten paper near the bear's side, closed the locker door softly, and quietly padded outside to the nearby Starbuck's until 7:30. Eriol ordered a tall Caramel Macchiato and walked back to school to wait for his friends. He just couldn't wait to see the reaction on Sakura's face when she opened her unusually neat locker. He couldn't wait until he saw her surprised face.

* * *

-Sakura-

When I opened my locker that morning, I was so surprised to see a brown teddy holding a notebook and pen in one paw. Picking up the typewritten note, I read:

_To the birthday girl,_

_This teddy bear with suit your needs  
A silent confident  
Pen to write your troubled thoughts  
And a notebook just to match_

_This is my gift to you  
So use it wise and well  
A silver ribbon for you to use  
To seal secrets you'd never tell_

_From,  
A Secret Friend_

Whoever wrote this must have a lot of time on his or her hands. The gifts kind of made me feel like I was surrounded by people who loved me and appreciated me. It was a feeling that I don't get very often.

Meiling and Tomoyo walked towards my locker, where I was still unpacking my books from my backpack.

"Hey Sakura, whatcha got there?" Meiling said, indicating at the gifts I had received.

"Ohh... is that from your secret friend? You know, the one that gave you the CD yesterday." Tomoyo asked excitedly.

"Yeah, it's from my secret friend. It's a rather comforting gift actually." I answered my 'friends.' I'm still having a hard time adjusting to friendship, especially with my "yesterday-found-new-friends."

"Good morning ladies. What's all the commotion?" Eriol said, popping up behind Tomoyo.

"Sakura got another present this morning!" Meiling said exuberantly.

Eriol adjusted his glasses. "Really Ling Ling?"

"Just look at her locker!" Tomoyo pointed out.

Eriol looked into my locker and read the note beside the gifts. He smiled and said,

"Happy Birthday Sakura-san."

I looked at him weirdly. "My birthday's on Friday Eriol-kun." I stated bluntly.

My friend looked surprised. "But the note says it's your birthday."

I glanced at the piece of paper. "Then maybe the sender has an odd sense of humor. Great way to trash someone's reputation!" I said sarcastically. Of course, that was a totally ironic statement because I don't have a reputation.

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of classes. I passed by Li on my way to Social Studies. He opened his mouth to say something but I pretended not to notice him and walked calmly to my Chemistry class.

Why should I care what he has to say? He's done nothing but be a pain and a nuisance in my life.

So why did his hurt face affect me so much?

* * *

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! This chapter's a whole MONTH late!

I finally got it done. It's so much harder to update since fourth quarter started and I have to keep my grades up at my A/B average...

Curse homework 'till the end of the world! Students of the universe! We must rebel to prevent this thing called "homework" that prevents us from doing things like updating our fanfics!

Sorry 'bout that. Had a little anger towards homework I needed to release.

Please review! The more amount of reviews I get helps motivate me to update sooner and more quickly.

Ja!

Callista Miralni


	18. Wednesday's for Tomoyo

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!

I'm sorry for not updating quickly! It's fourth quarter and that means FINALS! AHHHH! Anyways, my mom's bugging me to study so I can't update as much.

Thanks to my reviewers! I wanna thank **FlowerLover**, for giving me the support when I really needed it. You are the best friend ever!

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer. I lay no claim to anything in this fic except for the plot and the little poem thingys.

* * *

-Chapter 19-  
-Birthday: Wednesday's for Tomoyo-  
-Tuesday afterschool-  
-Sakura-

I was pretty much silent all day, like I usually am. I zoned out during lunch, even though Meiling was constantly waving her hand in front of my face. I barely paid attention in class, but somehow I got through Morality all right. Meiling-chan is in a group with us, since she only knows us four so yeah...

Anyways, I trudged home to Yukito's house afterschool. My cousin welcomed me with open arms and told me I could stay in his sister's room. Well, technically, it was my lavender bedroom. I walked upstairs, opened the door, and found my cousin Ayame sitting on the bed, listening to my first album, _A Capella._ Personally, I didn't like that album very much; _Hidden Secrets_ was so much more my style.

"Hey Kura! What brings you here?" Ayame asked brightly. She smiled at me and I gave a small smile in return.

"Aya, technically, this is my house." I answered. My cousin laughed sheepishly. Then she grew serious.

"Sakura, what are you gonna do about your concert? Grandfather cancelled the dinner to watch your concert!"

My eyes widened. "There really was a dinner planned? I thought... well, I told Meiling I couldn't go with her to my concert because Grandfather was having a dinner!"

Ayame's blue eyes widened in shock. "Oh, crap... now what? If she goes to your concert, you have to be there, but you're performing onstage!" My cousin was now officially panicking. She started mumbling things like "We can't let everyone find out your identity!" and "How are we gonna pull this off?"

"Tsukishiro Ayame Kaho! Get a grip! We have a crisis and your rambling isn't helping!" I yelled. Ayame stopped talking. I took a deep breath and said quietly:

"Listen, we have a problem and not thinking isn't going to help us. You're gonna have to pretend to be me. It's easier said than done, just to let you know."

Ayame looked me in the eyes. "Sakura, we used to be identical twins, except for the eyes. Personality, age, grades, looks, everything! But you grew cold, and I understand your reasons for doing so. But don't you think this has gone on too long? Don't you think it's time to let your true self out?" she pleaded.

"That's why I'm Sakura Athene. To be myself, hidden in the shadows." I replied icily. My voice softened as I added, "Ayame, you've known me for an eternity. You've been my best friend since we could walk and talk. You know why I'm this way. You were there when Meiling couldn't be there. Ayame, you are me."

We were silent for a while. Then Ayame spoke up.

"Sakura, those who lie in shadows wait until the time is right to be brought out into the open. I'll do it, but only if it is really necessary."

I smiled a little bit. "Thanks for everything."

* * *

-The Mall-  
-Tomoyo-

I just couldn't think of anything to get for Sakura. But as I was walking past the music store, Music and More, I noticed a poster advertising Sakura Athene Miralni's concert at Tomoeda Gardens. For some reason though, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her face. Even though Sakura Athene was smiling, her emerald eyes showed a hidden emotion concealed within their depths. It was an emotion I couldn't name.

Was it pain? Longing? Hurt? Loneliness?

Well, whatever it was, it was not my business. And besides, I couldn't reach out and befriend a superstar, not even with my mom's high ranking business status!

My feet dragged me to the bookstore. I didn't know why, but I found myself in the poetry section. I'm not too fond of poetry myself, but I ended up buying Sakura a book of poetry called _Poetry for the Mind._ As I was reading through it, I noticed that all these poems were written by the same author who simply signed her name _Celeste_. One poem caught my eye though. It read:

_The stars remember everyone's dreams.  
They whisper instructions on the wind._  
_Watching, waiting for that special day_  
_When someone comes to live with them._  
_The stars they see and hear everything and anything_  
_And remembers each word that's said_  
_Always watching and waiting next to the sun_  
_And accompanying the moon on its dark journey_  
_Giving comfort and light to everyone._

_Yet this is my melody, this is my song_  
_Hope and light to everyone_  
_Despair and darkness, its counterpart_  
_Ying and yang are thrown into the pot_  
_Balance restored and arguments not_  
_Luna soleil, the celestial heart._

_Sakura's my name, yet materially I don't gain_  
_I remember everything and anything._  
_Athene is my mind, yet alone I shine_  
_Giving it everything all that I've got._  
_The elements guide me and help me through my ways._  
_Nature is watching me every day._  
_Myths and legends are close to my heart_  
_Without them I could not do without._

_Yet this is my melody, this is my song_  
_Hope and light to everyone_  
_Despair and darkness, its counterpart_  
_Ying and Yang are thrown into the pot_  
_Balance restored and mysteries revealed_  
_Luna soleil, the celestial heart._

It touched me, it really did. But there was something about the work that reminded me of someone familiar.

I just didn't know who.

* * *

-Wednesday-

The first thing I heard when I walked into school the next day was Jade running through the halls, towards the PA booth, yelling about Sakura Athene's concert.

"Students of Seijuu High! In my hands I hold, four backstage passes to Sakura Athene's Saturday concert at seven in Tomoeda Gardens. Four lucky students will win these tickets and meet Sakura Athene LIVE! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, LIVE! Write your name on a slip of paper if you wish to enter the contest and deposit in the box outside the PA booth. The drawing is tomorrow. Three more days people! Three more days!" Jade yelled excitedly into the mike.

Students throughout the school bubbled with excitement at the prospect of backstage passes. I wrote my name on a piece of paper and dropped in the box. I saw several of my friends do the exact same thing.

"Hey Chiharu-chan, are you planning to go to the concert?" I asked Chiharu. She nodded happily.

"Yeah, I'm going with Naoko, Rika, Jade, and Jade's twin sister- oh what's her name? Oh right, Kaorin. Are you going Tomoyo-chan?"

I nodded in response. "Rae Meiling invited me to go with her and her cousins."

Chiharu looked surprised. "Rae Meiling? The famous gymnast? Who are her cousins? How do you know her?"

I laughed at Chiharu's surprise face. "Meiling-chan goes to school here. She transferred last Monday. We're close friends. You know Hiiragizawa Eriol and Li Syaoran? They're her cousins. I think she got free tickets from her sponsor." I answered thoughtfully. Truthfully, I was surprised that no one had noticed Meiling. It kinda hurt, knowing that everyone ignored Meiling when everyone knows her name!

The bell rang.

"I gotta get to class. See ya around Chiharu-chan." I waved good-bye and left for class.

I quietly managed to sneak the book in Sakura's locker with a small note during lunch. Since Morality is after lunch, Sakura should be able to open the gift by then. And besides, Kenji-sensei wanted each group member who received gifts to bring what they had received so far. Sakura is so puzzled as to how our sensei knew that some people received gifts, and when she asked him, he only replied that he had seen some of his sixth hour students with presents. She still didn't buy his answer but Sakura accepted it anyway and let the issue rest.

* * *

-Morality-  
-Sakura-

I never expected to get ANOTHER gift today. Once again, it was something of mine: a book of poems from sixth grade that my dad had published. Morality is as boring as ever- we did a group competition activity playing a trivia game about really stupid stuff like celebrities and toys. Honestly, who pays attention to that stuff?

Almost everyone, I suppose. It was really hard- not to answer questions about myself or Meiling. I inwardly laughed at all the pompous girls with their noses in the air, getting wrong answers they think they know. All knowing, all seeing, all hearing? Yeah right! More like all gossiping, all stupidity, all WRONG!

I guess I never pay any attention to that kind of stuff 'cause I'm part of that dreamworld of idolization. But seriously, can you blame me? I don't care about any of that stuff, others shouldn't care either.

We're just normal people.

* * *

-Afterschool-

As I was packing my books into my backpack, I felt a presence behind me.

_Li._

Great- just the person I wanted to see. Doesn't he have anything better to do than to mock me?

"Kinomoto- Mizuki-san wants to see you in her office." I heard the words come from his lips.

I stood up and faced the older boy icily. "Thank you for telling me." I replied stiffly. I carried my bag downstairs and walked into Kaho's office. Shutting the door behind me, I asked Kaho why she wanted to see me. My long time friend had a grim expression on her normally calm features.

"She's back."

* * *

I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but I couldn't think of anything else to write. This chapter took me three months to write, mainly because I was so busy and I was away from home for nearly two months. The note at the top was written in May during my finals, so ignore whatever's at the top.

My friend Ami went to Japan earlier this summer and she gave me a CCS t-shirt! It's so cool and I want to dedicate this chapter to her because she's such a good friend to talk about anime news with.

I'll try to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible, but I'm running out of ideas. Don't worry, I'll come up with something soon. Please review, it means the world to me!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

-Callista Miralni


	19. Syaoran Thursday

Hey! Callista Miralni here.

I just wanna thank my reviewers, You know who you are! I especially wanna thank my new reviewers, if any, and my old reviewers for coming back and reading my fic. It means so much to me!

**FlowerLover: **Lots of love my friend! Thanks for still being here for me.

**Kenny's grounded all the time: **Thanks for the compliment! I hope this chapter came soon enough for you.

**babiepinkpenguin:** Thanks for reading and reviewing. You are so perceptive, you know!

**Yukino-chan**: Thanks for your review! I really glad you read my story!

These were my first four reviewers. If I didn't put your name here and you reviewed my last chapter, I'm so sorry; I promise I'll add everyone in when I correct all the mistakes in my fic once it's done.

* * *

-Chapter 20-  
-Birthday: Syaoran Thursday-  
-Syaoran-

As I trudged home after school, the realization hit me.

Tomorrow, I had to give a gift to Kinomoto.

I don't know why, but at first I was always so impressed by her amazing talent. Then, some of my friends told me some terrible things about her.

Like how she managed to get Amai Kaorin expelled on something that wasn't Amai-san's fault.

Like how the kaijuu shoved Uteda Hikari down the stairs.

All sorts of little odds and ends. I didn't think about it much but now I realize I was spoon-fed exaggerations.

I was cruel to her for being mean to my "friends" and for being so cold to me.

I lost the trust of my best friend, favorite cousin, and another friend.

All because of my stupidity.

But, I'm interested in Kinomoto. There's something about her that I can't place.

I first noticed it during the spring talent show.

Then Meiling gave me a magazine about Sakura Athene Miralni.

Now the famous singer is in town and is having a concert at Tomoeda Gardens.

Of course, everybody in the school entered that contest.

Although, I don't ever remember seeing Kinomoto near the entry box.

Something's not right.

What normal person wouldn't enter?

* * *

-In Kaho's Office-  
-Sakura-

"Back?" I whispered terrified. "What do you mean by back?"

Kaho sighed. "The restraining order placed by the police on your father's order has been lifted. It expires after a year. Apparently, the new police policy that went into effect six months ago covers that restraining order. Your father was never informed and never reapplied for a continuation. I'm sorry Sakura, but you're going to have to be more careful now that Amai Kaorin can attack you without the threat of jail hanging over her head." she explained to me.

I slumped down on the couch. No, no, no, this was not happening! This all just some terrible nightmare I have while sleeping in Chemistry. Yes, when I wake up, I'll get in trouble with Oyamada-sensei and...

No. This is not a dream. This is reality.

I was back in my nightmare again. This time, it was so much more worse.

* * *

-Thursday-  
-Syaoran-

Quickly and quietly, I found myself at the school at seven in the morning. Finding Kinomoto's locker, I slipped the gold colored box into her locker and left a note with it. Shutting the metal door, I made my way out of the building and proceeded to the nearest cafe, hoping for a decent breakfast.

At 7:30, I returned back to school. Almost everybody was there, anxiously waiting for Amai Jade to arrive at school and draw the names of the winners of yesterday's contest.

Suddenly, the dark haired girl pushed her way through the crowd, struggling to get to the PA booth. I knew it had to be her; the indignant screams and protests as she pushed free a path for herself told me so.

"Alright! Ladies and Gentlemen, in my hands I have the box full of contestants who will win in ten seconds time backstage passes to Saturday's concert! Winner number one is-" Amai stuck her hand in the box and drew out a name.

"-Daidouji Tomoyo! Tomoyo-chan, you just won a backstage pass. You are so lucky my friend!" Daidouji looked like she was in a state of shock as Meiling pushed her towards the PA booth.

"Our next winner is-" Many students crossed their fingers while Amai-san drew another name.

"-Rae Meiling! C'mere girl, you just won one fabulous prize!" Meiling bounced up and down excitedly, elated that she won the contest.

"Cross your fingers Seijuu, 'cause our third winner is-" The unmistakable crinkling of paper was heard.

"-Hiiragizawa Eriol! Lucky guy, maybe Miralni-san will give you a kiss!" Amai joked over the intercom. Eriol made his way up to the front to join Daidouji and Meiling.

"Okay folks! Give me a drum roll for our fourth and final winner." Many students laughed because Amai played the sound of a beating drum over the PA. "Our lucky student is-" I could hear the many kids whispering, "Oh please, let it be me," in a chant like fashion.

"-Li Syaoran! Aw, I envy you so much Li-san. Can we trade lives?"

Is that right? Did Amai just call my name? Dazedly, I walked towards the PA booth, still in a state of shock.

_I won. And I get to meet Sakura Athene Miralni. Plus, I have a free ticket to her concert._

Suddenly, my day just got suddenly brighter.

* * *

-Later that day-  
-Sakura-

At around lunchtime, I opened my locker to put my books away. Suddenly, my hand hit something hard at the back of my locker. Curious, I drew the item out and stared at it in shock.

It was a gold box, tied with a pink ribbon with a note attached. The note read:

_Happy Birthday Sakura-san._

_I hope you like this last and final gift._

_Look on the bright side; _

_Tomorrow you're sixteen!_

_From Your Secret Friend_

Who would send me such gifts anyway? I untied the ribbon and opened the box, wondering what was inside. Upon seeing the gift, I gasped in shock.

It was a delicate silver charm bracelet, reminiscent of the one my mother wore until she died. There was a different colored Austrian crystal in the center of each tiny cherry blossom. The colors ranged from the white to the lightest pink possible.

"Oh wow, what a gift Sakura-chan." Meiling said in awe behind me. That caught the attention of nearby Eriol.

"Your secret friend has really outdone themselves this time." Eriol commented. Tomoyo wandered towards us, wondering why a crowd had gathered around my locker. It was true; my bracelet had attracted the attention of a crowd of gathering students.

"Oh how kawaii Sakura-chan! Your secret friend has some fashion sense after all!" Tomoyo cried excitedly.

"Is that yours Kinomoto-san?" Li asked, also taking notice of the silver jewelry.

"Yeah… I wonder who's sending me all these gifts? No one ever notices me, but now..." I trailed off, still dazed by the appearance of another gift to take real notice of who I'm talking to.

I put the bracelet back in its gold box and slipped it into my mini backpack. Grabbing my lunch, I headed outside with Tomoyo and Meiling to eat under the cherry tree.

* * *

-Afterschool-  
-Eriol-

I walked to Syaoran's apartment with Meiling and of course, Syaoran. Finally, I asked him a question that had been bugging me all day.

"Why did you give her that bracelet?" I asked him. After all, he had given Sakura-san the nicest gift, but he was the one who she had the most issues with.

"Yeah, why did you? It's been bugging me all day." Meiling added. How weird. I bet that if we called Tomoyo-san right now, she would have said the exact same thing about the bracelet.

We stopped walking, turning around to face him and watch carefully for his reaction, which was only a sigh.

"I don't know why I had given her that bracelet. I guess I felt guilty and wanted to make it up to her." he answered, shaking his head and continuing onward.

"Hey, I think my cuz is falling for my tomodachi. Don't you agree Eriol?" Meiling commented slyly. I nodded in response, a small smirk gracing my lips.

You and I make a great team Ling Ling. We're such conspirators.

Syaoran grew all heated up over that silly comment. "No, I am NOT falling for her Meiling. Just drop all your stupid fantasies! It's never going to happen!"

Meiling and I smiled at each other. Whatever Syaoran said, all the signs pointed to denial.

After all, normal people who aren't falling in love with Kinomoto Sakura don't grow irritated at an obviously stupid remark.

Or maybe it's just Syaoran being Syaoran.

* * *

-Sakura-

Once again, I was in my clearing, with my Sakura Cards in my hand. I shuffled the deck a few times and drew out ten random cards, face down. Quickly, I put them into a diamond shape, leaving the one extra card to the side. I flipped over the lone top and bottom cards and the three cards in the middle. Unsurprised at the Cards answer to my question, I flipped over the four remaining cards in the diamond. The tenth card still lay face down to the side.

I frowned. Now this was unexpected. Formulating a theory, I hesitantly flipped over the tenth, final, and last card.

This was not good.

* * *

Sakura Cards Tarot Layout

_The Return_

_The Change, The Flower_

_The Maze, The Sword, The Time_

_The Silent, The Illusion_

_The Dark_

_The Windy_

(Windy is supposed to be by the right hand side of the diamond layout)

* * *

The Cards' message was clear:

_A dark adversary from your past will return to your present confusion, changing your danger using the secrets and falsehoods at hand in their knowledge._

Kaho didn't lie when she told me that Kaorin is back in action.

She just didn't tell me that it could be worse than before.

Amai Kaorin will not stop until she gets what she wants.

She wants me gone.

_For good._

_

* * *

_

Short Preview of what's to come:

Sakura Athene's concert is in two days. What will Sakura do then if her grandfather is coming -and dragging her whole family- to watch her concert? Can Ayame pull off being Sakura's twin? Especially when Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol, and Syaoran all have backstage passes!

Stay with me readers for the last "Birthday" chapter! As Sakura Kinomoto recieves her last gift from her secret friend, will she finally learn the real identity of her mysterious giver?

On the next chapter of Fallen Through!

* * *

Unusual twist, while I was writing this, I didn't even plan for this chapter to end this way. Sorry about the cheesy "preview." I was thinking about watching cartoons, and they do that a lot on Japanese anime cartoon shows.

No, the next chapter IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! Good grief, I haven't even gotten to the middle of the fic!

Technically readers, this is the 20th chapter deleted a chapter so I had to combine two chapters into one) and I'm so proud! I'm pretty sure this is my longest chapter written (although I could be wrong) but I have never gotten so far in a fanfic (or any fic I've written for that matter). Thanks to all my reviewers who helped inspire me and encouraged me to keep writing. Your dedication to read my fic is indescribable (sp?) and words cannot express my gratitude.

Lots of love,  
Callista Miralni


	20. Party for the Princess

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

'Sup minna-san! Callie here, with another installment of my ever popular fic, Fallen Through!

I've hit 94 reviews! All in the space of eight months! Can you believe it people, can you? I sure can't and I'm the author!

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I receive some flattering comments from all of you and I can scarcely believe that you and I are talking about the same person!

And now, the long awaited 21th chapter of... Fallen Through!

* * *

-Chapter 21-  
-Birthday: Party for the Princess-  
-Tomoyo-

April 1st.

Friday.

The long awaited day.

Running around my spacious room, searching for a wrapped up gift at six in the morning, one could hardly say I was excited.

I was elated.

After all, my friend Sakura is turning sixteen.

I wonder... is this the first birthday she has celebrated with friends in seven years?

_Then I must do my best to make it the best birthday Sakura-chan has ever had!_ I thought with determination.

On a whim, I swiftly picked up the sky blue phone in my room and dialed a number.

_"Moshi, moshi, Meiling desu. Who is this?" _A tired voice answered.

"Oh gomen nasai, Meiling-chan. Did I wake you up?" I asked, frantic with concern. Oh dear, I didn't even think about the time.

_"Iie. I woke up about ten minutes ago. What's up Tomoyo-chan?"_ I heard Meiling respond.

"Do you wanna help me decorate Sakura-chan's locker this morning?" I said, regaining my previous elated mood.

_"Sure! What time do you want to meet and where?" _Meiling said brightly.

"Seven in front of the school. Is that okay with you?"

"_Hai. Ja ne Tomoyo-chan!"_

"Mata ashita!" I answered with a smile.

Swiftly, I gathered some ribbon, tape, paper and markers and put them in a bag. After eating a quick breakfast and saying good-bye to my mother, I departed the house, with my gift, decorations, a backpack on this bright and beautiful day.

If only it could stay that way.

* * *

-Meiling-

I waited patiently in front of the school five minutes till seven. I noticed another raven haired girl on the horizon, running towards me.

_Tomoyo._ I thought with a smile.

"Gomen nasai, Meiling-chan. Have you been waiting long?" Tomoyo asked me worriedly.

"No." I answered with a smirk.

The other girl sighed. "Phew, for a moment there..."

"What? Scared of breaking your perfect attendance record?"

She blushed. "Not really..."

We walked through the front doors of the establishment. Finding Sakura's locker was relatively easy; it's the top locker at the very end of the junior section.

Opening the locker, Tomoyo and I exchanged sly smiles. The sparkling clean locker was clean no more.

In fact, it looked so much brighter than before...

* * *

-Sakura-

I got to school at my usual time of 7:15. Upon opening my locker, I knelt down by my backpack, picked up my books, and turned to place them in my locker.

"The hell! What the crap? Is this some kind of sick joke?" I yelled in the empty hallway.

I took a closer look. There were brightly colored streamers hung inside my locker. A bag of candy sat on my books and a new dry erase board had the message, "Happy Birthday Sakura-chan!" written in lavender color marker stuck to the door on my locker.

As I scrutinized the decorations and unexpected emotion bubbled up inside of me as I was assaulted with memories.

* * *

_-Seven Years Ago-_

_"Surprise Sakura! Do you like the decorations on your locker?" a younger Meiling asked her._

_"I brought the candy!" Mihara Chiharu declared proudly._

_"I hung the streamers." Yanagisawa Naoko added._

_"We made the banner!" Sasaki Rika and Amai Jade proclaimed. _

_

* * *

_

It was all just...

too much to handle.

I broke down in the middle of that empty hallway, my eyes flooding with tears.

It really was... too much to handle.

* * *

-Afterschool-  
-Syaoran-

During lunch today, Daidouji-san, err... _Tomoyo, _as she insisted quite fiercely, invited me to a party after school at her house.

Surprisingly, Eriol knew where her house was.

After Tomoyo left us, I remember turning to Eriol with a sly look on my face.

"So, _Eriol,_ you know where her house is?" I asked with a suggestive look on my face.

My best friend just rolled his eyes.

"Of _course_ I know where it is! Kami-sama, she lives _across the street_ from me!" he exclaimed haughtily.

I stood there dumbfounded.

Man I felt like an idiot.

So here I am, waiting outside the school gate for everybody else, still looking like an idiot. Meiling, Tomoyo, Eriol, and Kinomoto soon arrived and we set off towards Tomoyo's house.

* * *

-Sakura-

As we walked over to Tomoyo's house, I suddenly remembered a little bit of information that I had forgotten.

Tomoyo _lives _down the street from _my _house!

As we walked past my house on the corner lot, Tomoyo said:

"That's such a beautiful house there." The raven haired girl pointed to my house.

I could feel my stomach drop uneasily as the other four began to daydream and fantasize about the house and its owners.

I snorted at Li's suggestion that the mayor lived there.

But, I felt myself grow cold at Tomoyo's notion that Sakura Athene Miralni lived inside.

Very quickly, we reached Tomoyo's house. Walking upstairs, Tomoyo led us to a set of wooden doors. Yanking them open, I stood there in shock at what lay inside.

It was a room, filled with party decorations. A chocolate chip cookie cake lay on a table with the words "Happy Birthday Sakura!" in purple and pink icing. On another table, a small pile of gifts sat neatly wrapped.

"Oh my God." were the only words that left my mouth.

Meiling grinned and steered me inside the room. "Go on Sakura," she said, handing me a knife, "Cut the cake."

Gingerly, I sliced the oversized cookie into ten pieces. Eriol handed me one plate at a time to be filled with the delicious cookie.

We played games such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle, and a score of board games that I could hardly remember which ones we played.

But what would be a party without... Karaoke?

Meiling dared Li to be the first one to sing. He blatantly refused but gave in when I told him that he was a chicken and all his manly courage had flown out the window.

He chose Green Day's _When I Come Around_.

I had to admit, he was pretty good.

For a joke, Eriol sang _I Feel Like A Woman_. We were laughing so hard at his over-dramatization of a prissy stuck up rich lady.

Then my cell phone rang. I sent Tomoyo and Meiling an apologetic look as I excused myself for a moment.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Sakura Celeste Kinomoto! Where in the hell are you?"_ I heard Ayame screech on the other end.

"Ayame! Stop yelling! I'm over at a friend's house, who giving a birthday party _in my honor_." I emphasized the last three words.

"_How long is this supposed to last?_" My cousin sighed.

"Until ten..." I answered softly.

"_Ten? We can't wait until ten! You have to practice!" _She screeched.

"Then switch." I said bluntly. Ayame knew what that meant.

She had to take my place while I sang onstage.

I hung up on my cousin and rejoined my friends. Li gave me a suspicious look, which I ignored.

"That was my boss. She needs my help backstage for tomorrow's concert." I lied.

"You're helping out with tomorrow's concert?" Meiling asked, surprised.

"Yeah, and they're having some issues. You guys wanna come? I mean, you four have VIP passes, I'm sure they won't mind if you watch Miralni-san practice. It's not like it's the actual concert." I said, wincing inwardly at the invitation that just sprang from my mouth.

"Sure!" Tomoyo yelled excitedly.

So the five of us headed over to Tomoeda Gardens. I told them to go sit in the stands while I went backstage...

to switch places with my cousin...

and perform onstage in front of my first audience from home.

* * *

This chapter really sucked. It's really supposed to be a filler in between Syaoran's gift and the concert.

The next chapter will be longer, simply because it's going to be full of songs and descriptions of the concert.

Gomen nasai for not updating fast enough!

Ja!

Callista Miralni


	21. Concert of the Year

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

Oh my gosh! I've hit one hundred reviews!

Honestly, if I knew who my one hundredth reviewer was, I'd dedicate this chapter to them.

Instead, I'm going to dedicate this key chapter to all my reviewers, especially the new reviewers and the old reviewers who have stuck with this story since the beginning.

Disclaimer: I don't own CardCaptor Sakura or any of the songs used in this chapter. These songs belong to their respective owners.

* * *

-Chapter 22-  
-Concert of the Year-  
-Saturday, April 2-  
-Sakura-

Today.

The day of my long awaited concert.

The day when I reveal myself to my classmates.

The day when I reveal myself to my friends.

The day when I reveal myself to my enemies.

The day when everything could go wrong.

_Ring, Ring!_

I picked up the phone in my room in the mansion. It was Ayame, panicking as usual.

"_Sakura! There's a girl named Tomoyo who's at the door! She needs to see you!"_

"Why?" I asked.

"_I think she needs to give something to you. I told her you were in the bathroom."_

"Hold on, lemme run over."

I hung up the phone and ran outside into my backyard. Running among the shrubbery, I finally found the hidden gate into the small yard of my cousin's house.

Slipping through the back door, I ran up the back stairway and dashed into the bathroom, nearly running into a surprised Yukito.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and flushed the toilet. I turned on the sink, removed my shoes, and put on Ayame's bathrobe that was hanging on the door.

I walked into the living room and saw Tomoyo on the couch.

"Hey Sakura-chan, our birthday party for you was cut short so I came by your house to give you your gifts."

I was surprised. Gifts? They honestly didn't have to give me gifts.

Tomoyo handed me a small wrapped box. I opened it and found a pair of silver dangling earrings with a moon and a star on the end of two separate threads of silver.

I looked up in surprise. "This is pretty neat. Who is this from?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Meiling-chan." she answered.

I picked up a silver bag with blue tissue paper peeking out from the top. "That's from Eriol-kun." Tomoyo answered my unspoken query.

I found the wrapped hard object at the bottom of the bag. It turned out to be a white mirror with different colored stars adorning the handle and the rim of the mirror.

Next I picked up a large lavender rectangular box with the words 'Daidouji Designs' imprinted on the cover. The lid revealed a large black hoodie sweater with the words "Seven days..." imprinted in white on the front, a large white ring on the back, and the name "Sadako" printed on the left sleeve.

Ayame laughed at the hoodie. "How did you know that Sakura's favorite movie is _the Ringu _Daidouji-san?"

Tomoyo smiled. "A little birdie told me." she replied with a mysterious smile.

I picked up the last present. It was lightweight and about the size of Meiling's present.

"I think that's from Li-kun. He didn't tell us what he got you though..." Tomoyo trailed off as I opened the gold colored box and she gasped in surprise at what lay inside.

Hanging on a delicate chain of silver was a crystal cherry blossom with a silver shooting star halfway encircling the pendant before coming to a stop right below the flower.

I couldn't help but notice how it matched perfectly with the bracelet I received on Thursday...

I sat up straight. "Wait a minute... it was you! All of you! You guys are my secret friend!" I realized.

Tomoyo laughed. "Happy birthday Sakura-chan, happy birthday."

* * *

-Meiling-  
-Tomoeda Gardens-

I bounced up and down. I couldn't wait. It was finally happening; I was finally here for the concert of the year!

"Ling Ling, stop moving so much. You're giving me a headache." Eriol begged as he rubbed his forehead.

We had center stage seats up near the front. In about five minutes time, we would see the famous singer onstage, singing her platinum album hits, dancing the night away!

Afterwards, we were going to spend some time with the young singer. That's the part I really looked forward to.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The concert is about to begin. Please turn off all cell phones and no photography or video recording is allowed. And now please give a hand to...

... Sakura Athene!"

The crowd cheered loudly. A light mist was rising on the stage and the spotlight focused on one area of the floor.

BOOM! A loud bang and a bright flash filled the arena. The smoke cleared and revealed the young singer, holding a mic, and dressed in loose casual clothes.

"Minna genki Tomoeda?" She yelled to the crowd.

"Genki desu!" We screamed back.

Sakura Athene smiled and the music to her first hit, _It Sucks (Skye Sweetnam) _filled our ears.

_It's just a simple kiss and  
No one has to ever know._  
_What she doesn't know won't hurt her_  
_As long as I don't let it show_  
_We'll keep it just between us_  
_Bottled up inside._  
_Just our little secret_  
_I'll be playing dumb and acting shy._

_Going crazy for a week_  
_Your girlfriend's gonna freak_

_Because I know I'd be freaking too_  
_Cause that's the thing that girlfriends do._

_It's so frustrating_  
_You're not the type that I should be dating_  
_No matter where I go_  
_Or what I do_  
_It sucks cause I wanna be with you._

_Found a lame excuse to call you_  
_Just to hear you on the phone_  
_Talked a million miles an hour_  
_Pretending we were all alone_  
_And if only for a moment_  
_It felt like you were really mine_  
_But no one wants a cheater_  
_Even if the boy is fine._

_Going crazy for a week_  
_Your girlfriend's gonna freak_  
_Because I know I'd be freaking too_  
_Cause that's the thing that girlfriends do._

_It's so frustrating_  
_You're not the type that I should be dating_  
_No matter where I go_  
_Or what I do_  
_It sucks cause I wanna be with you._

_It's so frustrating_  
_You're not the type that I should be dating_  
_No matter where I go_  
_Or what I do_  
_It sucks cause I wanna be with you. _

_

* * *

_

We roared with approval. So far, it was a good show.

The artist then announced the next song, entitled _Let Go._

_I have to wear a mask_  
_For every situation._  
_I have to hide myself_  
_For the world._  
_But every time that I'm with you_  
_I lose all control._  
_I reserve the right _  
_To go crazy._

_Let loose, let go_  
_Let go of everything you know_  
_Don't hide_  
_Just let your inner spirit show._  
_Let loose let go_  
_I want you to know_  
_That I'm not myself_  
_'Till I'm with you._

_How can you see right through me?_  
_Do you know who I really am?_  
_I must hide among them_  
_Or lose everything I have._

_Yet every time that I'm with you_  
_I lose all control_  
_I reserve the right_  
_To go crazy_  
_Let loose, let go_  
_Let go of everything you know_  
_Don't hide_  
_Just let your_  
_Inner spirit show_  
_Let loose, let go_  
_I want you to know_  
_That I'm not myself _  
_Till I'm with you. _

_

* * *

_

This is my favorite song! It sounded exactly like her CD. It was just so... amazing.

"This next song is off my new album, _Hidden Secrets_, entitled_ Never Alone_. This is for all you guys in a relationship!"

The crowd screamed and whistled in excitement. The guitar stared playing the into.

_Here we are, once again_  
_I can feel you breathing down my neck _  
_Listening to voices again _  
_Screaming out to the world again_  
_Na na na na na na_  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_What luck would've had it_  
_To see you once again? _  
_Different paths and different choices _  
_Makes us the person we can have. _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _

_Destiny-_  
_Will have to wait for its turn. _  
_Nothing can separate. _  
_Don't kill two birds with one stone. _  
_Don't leave me behind. _  
_Don't let me fade away _  
_I want to feel never alone again. _  
_Looking back, once again_  
_Memories appear in a snap _  
_Thinking back on good times again _  
_Wishing things will always be the same. _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Never mind my wishful thinking_  
_Things will always change someday _  
_Living in the past and not the present _  
_Is it bad to dwell on memories again? _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _  
_Na na na na na na _

_Destiny-_  
_Will have to wait for its turn. _  
_Nothing can separate. _  
_Don't kill two birds with one stone. _  
_Don't leave me behind. _  
_Don't let me fade away_  
_I want to feel never alone again. _

_

* * *

_

For some reason the song struck an odd chord in my chest. As if Sakura Athene was speaking to me about my tomodachi. I wondered if that's how Sakura felt when I unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep. Then again, maybe not. She did say it was for people in a relationship.

I turned my attention back to the stage. The young singer was seated at a piano and played the beautiful intro of her second single from her first album, _Hear Me (Kelly Clarkson)_.

_(hear me...hear me...)  
You gotta be out there_  
_You gotta be somewhere_  
_Wherever you are_  
_I'm waiting_

_(oh...)_

_'Cause there are these nights when_  
_I sing myself to sleep_  
_And I'm hoping my dreams will_  
_Bring you close to me._  
_Are you listening?_

Sakura Athene suddenly stood up from the piano and the band erupted in an explosion of music.

_Hear me,_  
_I'm crying out_  
_I'm ready now_  
_Turn my world upside down_  
_Find me_  
_I'm lost inside the crowd_  
_It's getting loud_  
_I need you to see_  
_I'm screaming for you to please_  
_Hear me._  
_Can you hear me?_

_(hear me... ahh...)_

_I used to be scared of_  
_Letting someone in._  
_But it gets so lonely_  
_Being on my own._  
_No one to talk to_  
_No one to hold me_  
_I'm not always strong_  
_Oh, I need you here_  
_Are you listening?_

_Hear me,_  
_I'm crying out_  
_I'm ready now_  
_Turn my world upside down_  
_Find me_  
_I'm lost inside the crowd_  
_It's getting loud_  
_I need you to see_  
_I'm screaming for you to please_  
_Hear me._

_I'm restless and wild_  
_I fall but I try_  
_I need someone to understand_  
_Can you hear me?_  
_I'm lost in my thoughts_  
_And baby I fought_  
_For all that I got_  
_Can you hear me?_

_Hear me,_  
_I'm crying out_  
_I'm ready now_  
_Turn my world upside down_  
_Find me_  
_I'm lost inside the crowd_  
_It's getting loud_  
_I need you to see_  
_I'm screaming for you to please_  
_Hear me_  
_Hear me_  
_Hear me_  
_Hear me_  
_Can you hear me?_  
_Hear me_  
_Hear me_  
_Hear me_  
_Can you hear me?_  
_Oh... ohh.. ohh..._  
_hear me... hear me..._

_

* * *

_

-Sakura-

Adrenaline coursed through my body as I finished that last song. It was easy for me to sing emotionally for that song; after all, it was my imprisonment through the years, begging to be heard.

I spotted nearly the entire high school at the concert. In the front row, Ayame, Yuki, Kaho, Toya, and Nakuru waved at me and gave me a reassuring smile.

I smiled back and turned my attention back to the crowd.

"Minna genki Tomoeda?" I screamed at the cheering crowd.

"HAI!" they yelled back.

"This is the last song for the evening! You've been a great crowd, hope to come back again!" I announced.

I signaled to Yoh, my lead guitarist, to start playing the beautiful acoustic intro of my favorite song. Yoh played a few more bars than usual, understanding that I needed to explain to the screaming crowd.

"As a treat for being such an awesome audience, I'm gonna perform my favorite song by my favorite artist. It's called _Fallen Through_ by Skye Sweetnam. Hey, if you're watching this Skye, love you lots!" I said energetically.

_(ohh... ohh... ohh...)  
(ohh... ohh... ohh...)_

_I do what he says_  
_But I end up falling off the edge_  
_I don't know what to do_  
_Never seems_  
_To end up being true_  
_Seeps in underneath the door_  
_Sinks in and stains the floor_  
_I don't know what to feel_  
_Takes so long_  
_For the wounds to heal_  
_Tell me it's not really real_

_Fallen through_  
_Why did I fall for you?_  
_Fallen for_  
_All the lies, alibis that you said_  
_Left me holding on by the last thread_

_Stop, stare and watch me burn_  
_Someday, it'll be your turn_  
_Can't fool me_  
_I can see_  
_All the things_  
_That you don't want me to see_  
_You threw my heart_  
_That's the price that I paid_  
_I know it's never fair_  
_Promised me_  
_You'd always be there_  
_But you never really cared._

_Fallen through_  
_Why did I fall for you?_  
_Fallen for_  
_All the lies, alibis that you said_  
_Left me holding on by the last thread_

Ren, the second guitarist, played the electric guitar solo. Then, Yoh once again played the main theme of the song

_Fallen through_  
_Why did I fall for you?_  
_Fallen for_  
_All the lies, alibis that you said_  
_Left me holding on by the last thread._  
_Fallen through_  
_Why did I fall for you?_  
_Fallen for_  
_All the lies, alibis that you said_  
_Left me holding on by the last thread_

_Fallen through_  
_Why did I fall for you?_  
_Fallen for_  
_All the lies, alibis that you said_  
_Left me holding on by the last thread._

_(ohh...ohh... ohh...) _

_

* * *

_

The music died away and the crowd erupted into applause. Sakura Athene gave one last smile to the crowd and bowed before slipping back into the life that hated her at every turn.

* * *

I'm done! Gomen nasai to all my readers, especially FlowerLover, Greenleaf Blossom, and Tahimik Panda who have repeated threatened to use violence against me if I didn't update soon.

Well, the main reason why it took so long was that I had to find songs and type them up, mainly because the credibility of lyric websites are doubtable.

Please enjoy this chapter! I promise things between Sakura and Syaoran will heat up in the next three or four chapters. The concert is over but did you forget about the VIP backstage passes? I thought you did. All that and more on the next chapter of _Fallen Through_!

Thanks again!

Callista Miralni


	22. Backstage Passes

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

I'm so sorry I haven't updated soon! And yes, my deepest apologies to those who were hoping to read about Syaoran's reaction to Sakura's concert.

Thank you so much to all my reviewers!

Disclaimer: Nothing but plot and OCs.

* * *

-Chapter 23-  
-Concert: Backstage Passes-  
-Sakura-

I was a nervous wreck, sitting in my dressing room, preparing to lie to the people who had befriended me and accepted me for the loner I was.

Of course, Ayame insisted on staying, but I had ordered my brother and older cousin to drag her out the door and bring her home.

I really did not need Ayame here to accidentally mess something up.

"Sakura-sama, the VIP guests are here." Yoh said, popping his head out from the door. I nodded my thanks and my lead guitarist opened the door to admit my "friends" for lack of a better word.

I plastered a smile on my face. Prepare for the world to end...

* * *

-Syaoran-

"Hi! So the four of you are the lucky winners of Seijuu's concert drawing?" the cheerful singer greeted us.

I sighed inaudibly and started thinking, _No, really, I wonder why we're here if we didn't win._

"Well, as much as you all know my name, I don't know yours, so could you please introduce yourselves?"

Meiling and Eriol looked ecstatic. "I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol, but please call me Eriol."

"I'm Tomoyo." Daidouji-san piped up excitedly.

"And I'm Meiling."

The young singer eyed my cousin. "So you're Rae Meiling, the girl my grandfather sponsors in gymnastics. It's an honor to meet you!"

Meiling laughed. "I would say the exact same thing only you took the words right out of my mouth!"

"And who's the fourth one?" Miralni-san asked.

Eriol opened his mouth, but I smoothly cut him off by saying, "Li Syaoran."

Miralni-san smiled faintly and bowed to the four of us. "It's an honor to meet all of you. Please call me Sakura, after all, I do live in Tomoeda and I know we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

If only I had caught the meaning of that statement sooner...

All throughout our time together (a whole two hours of pondering) I never once did look at Sakura-san in the eye.

As we got up to leave, we bowed (as it was customary) and when I had straightened I finally saw the singer's face.

That image was burned into my mind all night.

But I could not place where I had seen it before.

* * *

-4:30 am, the next morning-

I was exhausted, having spent the entire night researching about Sakura Athene.

I saved thousands of photos, read countless interviews and even searched her website!

One could have called me a stalker, but I call it investigating.

I couldn't have been more thankful that the only person I lived with was Wei.

Wearily, I clicked on the next link to the _Tomoeda Talks_ website.

A single touch of the mouse sent my world spinning.

* * *

-Flashback-

_When I walked out of the locker room, I saw Kinomoto pass by._

_"Hey, matte!" I call to her._

_She spun around and when she saw me, her face twisted into a scowl and she turned away again._

_I caught up to her and fired her with questions._

_"Hey, where'd you learn to play like that?"_

_"Who was Toshi-sensei talking about?"_

_"How come you're not on the soccer team?"_

_"That's the first time I've ever been beaten by a girl."_

_I stopped to take a breath. She turned to me and says in a cold voice,_

_"It's impolite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. I'm not going to tell you anything Li. Don't try my patience."_

_Kinomoto glared at me and walks away._

_Leaving me standing there stunned._

_"Hey! Who's your brother?" I yelled out to her._

_"If you're so smart, why don't you look in the 1998 yearbook?" _

_

* * *

_

Because my older sister, Shiefa, had also attended Seijuu High as a transfer student, I had all the school yearbooks from 1994 to the present.

Taking out the '98 yearbook, I searched for the name 'Kinomoto Toya' in the senior class. When I had found his name, I looked back up at the computer screen.

_(Photo)  
Sakura Athene climbs into limo after a Hong Kong summer concert in 2004. With her is her long-term bodyguard, Kinomoto Toya, a senior at Tokyo University, and friend Mizuki Kaho, a first year teacher at Seijuu High School in Tomoeda, Japan._

Mizuki-sensei, the school counselor. I think Daidouji-san told me once that her cousin's boyfriend's name was Kinomoto Toya and Eriol said in Morality class that a Tsukishiro Yukito was Kinomoto's cousin and his cousin's boyfriend.

But Eriol once told me that his cousin denied Kinomoto Sakura's existence!

Something doesn't add up. I clicked on a different photo. It was a picture of the young singer onstage. Once again, my mind dwelled on another memory.

* * *

-Flashback-

_The curtain opened to reveal Kinomoto wearing a loose pair of navy blue capris, white socks and tennis shoes, a loose white t-shirt with a sun on it, and a lavender hoodie tied securely around her small waist. Her long hair was swept up into its usual ponytail and she wore a beaded bracelet on both wrists. On her neck was a blue and green necklace that glimmered like the moonlight._

_Kinomoto held the wireless mic like an expert, her stance casual. _

_Listening to her sing was a comforting and yet familiar experience._

_I could have sworn she looked exactly like a rock star onstage._

_But where have I seen that casual stance? The baggy outfit? Where have I heard that voice?_

_According to students who have gone to school with Kinomoto, they had never heard her sing solo._

_But that voice... it was like any professional singer who can actually sing. _

_

* * *

_

I'm really getting nowhere. Random memories keep popping up into my mind, and I know they mean something, but I just don't know what they mean.

I clicked on an interview on the magazine website.

* * *

_Hidden Secrets: Sakura Athene Miralni  
By: Akizuki Nakuru_

_Young Japanese pop star takes the charts at number one again! With the release of her latest album, Hidden Secrets, it clear that Sakura Athene Miralni, or Sakura Athene, is ensured a successful future if she continues in the music industry._

_However, not much is known about the young singer. There are many things about her that are shrouded in mystery. However, in a recent interview,_ Tomoeda Talks, _managed to get the young artist to tell a little bit more about herself._

_T: So, Sakura Athene, do you plan on making anymore platinum records?_

_SA: I do plan on recording some more albums but my music comes from my heart and soul. I don't try to create platinum record music, it just happens._

_T: Are you currently enrolled in a school?_

_SA: Yes, I am. I go to Seijuu High._

_T: Do you often get swarmed by fans at school?_

_SA: No, not really. I try to stay hidden in the shadows._

_T: Are you currently interested in someone?_

_SA: Me? Not in this lifetime!_

_T: So you're not really like other girls?_

_SA: What do you mean? _

_T: Like you're not all boy crazy._

_SA: Oh that. Well, I believe that everybody's unique. They just choose not to fully be themselves._

_T: So you have a philosopher's side too, huh/_

_SA: Yeah. It comes from habit._

_T: Can I ask you a personal question?_

_SA: Well, that depends on the question._

_T: Do you have any siblings?_

_SA: Yeah, I have an older brother, who's really annoying and overprotective._

_T: When's your birthday?_

_SA: Mine? August 13_

_T: How old are you really? You look so young, many sources say you are twelve, others thirteen, and yet another eleven!_

_SA: Well, I prefer not to reveal my age. It helps keep away stalkers. But, I'm older than you think I am._

_T: What do you like to do in your spare time?_

_SA: I like to read, play video games, watch TV, go outside, and listen to music. Not my own music, though._

_T: Oh, it looks like we're out of time. Thanks for the interview and I wish you luck with your successful career._

_SA: Hey, it was nice to meet you too. Thanks for inviting me. _

_

* * *

_

Certain phrases jumped out at me from the interview. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote:

-older brother, who's really annoying and over protective

-Seijuu High

-hidden in the shadows

-shrouded in mystery

-Hidden Secrets

* * *

I looked at the interview's author. To my surprise, it was Akizuki Nakuru.

Eriol's cousin.

Kinomoto's cousin's girlfriend

The girl who can tie it all together for me.

* * *

I'm so sorry this is so short and it doesn't meet your expectations, but I tried my best.

You know, I was re-reading this story, and I realized that for a short time, Syaoran had strayed out of the character mindset I had for him. So for the last three chapters or so, I had tried to slowly bring him back to his "saving nature" for lack of a better phrase. There wasn't much S+S fluff (actually, there hasn't been any) but I am trying my best to write some romance within the upcoming chapters.

All that and more on the next chapter of _Fallen Through!_

Callista Miralni


	23. Talking and Screaming

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

I'M BACK!

I am so sorry for not updating for an entire nine months! I had gone brain-dead for _Fallen Through_, which is something that has never happened before, so I think I unconciously took a mini-vacation.

Also, I have no idea where this story is going starting with this chapter. I have the basic plot written out in my mind, but as to how it unfold, how it is written, and how each detail and clue is carefully woven in, something that is absolutely essential to this story, will take time and result in slower updates. The other thing is that I'm a little disappointed from the lack of reviews for Chapter 23 (22 in the system) so nothing really encouraged me to continue writing.

This chapter has been heavily revised and I really don't like how it turned out.

* * *

-Chapter 24-  
-Hidden Secrets: Talking and Screaming-  
-Syaoran-  
-Monday Afternoon at Starbucks-

So I dragged Meiling, Eriol, and Tomoyo to the nearby Starbucks cafe to talk to them.

"Have you ever noticed anything weird about Kinomoto lately?"

Eriol rolled his eyes. "Understatement of the century, Syaoran. That girl's an enigma."

"That girl, you speak of, is my best friend." Meiling reminded us pointedly.

I ignored Meiling and said. "Seriously you guys. Think about it. No one has ever taken an interest in the girl before, so why now? I have never seen her until the first day of school back from winter break."

"The real question, Li-kun, is why are you so interested in her?" Tomoyo countered my inquiry.

Freezing in place, I stared at Tomoyo in surprise. I could feel the sweat beads starting to gather on my forehead as I saw three sets of eyes looking at me expectantly. I sighed in defeat.

"There's just something about her I can't explain. It's like an infinite warmth, but it's being hidden by infinite sadness."

The other three fell silent. "You too, huh? I could feel it too. Sakura-san radiates of this unnamed feeling." Eriol finally spoke.

"When I first saw her after nine years, I could immediately tell that something about her was different. Not just the way she acts or her personality, but something a little bit deeper." Meiling recalled.

"She is like a magnet. Once you feel this infinite sadness of hers, you can never forget her." Tomoyo said quietly.

A collective sigh gathered around the table. Things had just gotten more complicated than ever before.

* * *

-The Next Morning-  
-School-

"CRAP! I'm late!" I yelled the next morning. It was nine o'clock, and I had just missed my first class.

_Kinomoto Sakura, damn you! You're the whole reason I didn't sleep last night!_

Breathing heavily, I finally arrived at the front gates of Seijuu High. I checked into the office and headed to my locker. It was already the passing for second hour.

"What do you want, Amai?" I heard a familiar, cold voice say from my empty second hour classroom.

_Kinomoto_.

"I'm hurt, Sakura. Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?" a male's voice lightly answered.

A loud SMACK! and the shuffling of feet was heard (I winced- after all, I knew what it was like to be the receiving end of her slaps). I entered the room and was greeted by the sight of a teenage boy holding his cheek in one hand and pinning Kinomoto to the wall with the other.

Furious, I strode over to the guy and pulled him off of Kinomoto. "What are you doing?" I demanded hotly.

"Giving her the proper punishment for disobedience." the guy shrugged, refusing to take his gaze off of the younger girl.

SMACK! Kinomoto stood over his collapsed form. "Amai Masahiro. Who the hell do you think you are?" she said coldly before slapping him again.

A collective gasp could be heard from the doorway. Meiling, Tomoyo-san, Amai Jade-san, Mihara-san, Yanagisawa-san and Sasaki-san stood open-mouthed at Kinomoto, the idiot on the floor, and I.

"Onii-chan!" Amai Jade finally said after recovering from her shock. The girl ran over to her fallen brother. "Daijoubu desu ka?"

I grabbed Kinomoto's shoulder to prevent her from leaving. "Kinomoto, are you alright?" I knew that several people were staring at me oddly, but I didn't care right now.

She brushed my hand away and walked out the door of my classroom. I didn't see her the rest of the day.

In fact, I didn't see her all week.

* * *

-Sakura-

Oh Kami-sama.

I can't believe this.

I want to die.

* * *

-Later that afternoon-

"Sakura-san, I'm home!" I heard my father's call throughout the mansion.

"Otou-san." I greeted lifelessly, coming down from the stairway. Kinomoto Fujitaka's cheerful smile dropped, replaced by one of sadness.

"Sakura-san, please enjoy your life. Why don't you visit Rae-san, I heard she was back for the year." my father suggested, his eyes pleading with me to go out.

"Fine." I sighed. I trudged back up to my room to put some make-up on.

"He never said I couldn't go as Sakura Athene." I muttered to nobody in particular as I finished the final touches of eye make-up.

* * *

-Meiling-

I can't believe it.

Li Syaoran, my cousin, Mr. Big Shot Popular Soccer team Captain, just defended the loneliest person in the entire school.

_And_ asked if she was alright.

I could just scream with delight!

Oh, but you wouldn't believe who is sitting in my living room at this very moment.

Sakura Athene. _The _Sakura Athene...

... is drinking tea and talking with my cousin.

Life has been good to me.

If only it would be good to Kinomoto Sakura-chan too.

* * *

-Syaoran-

Okay.

Little Miss Pop Star Sakura Athene Miralni is drinking tea in Meiling's living room.

How the _heck_ did she get her address?

No matter, this girl is completely opposite from what I had expected. It's a pity that I was too busy staring off into space when we first met.

"So Li-san. You go to Seijuu High, correct?"

I looked up. "Yeah. Don't you go to Seijuu? I think I read it in a magazine somewhere." I watched her face closely for any signs of a lie.

"Yes, I'm a freshman." She answered calmly. Foiled. Not a single twitch.

"How is soccer season this year? My bodyguard used to play soccer for Seijuu. He graduated already." Sakura-san said as she took another sip of tea.

"Your bodyguard is Kinomoto Toya-san, the greatest soccer captain Seijuu's ever had, right?"

Sakura-san smiled at me. "Right! Kinomoto-kun is a good bodyguard for me. I just wish that he did something more productive in his free time than to babysit me all day."

Meiling ran into the living room, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Sakura-san, would you like to come with my friends and I to the amusement park today?"

The young singer's eyes lit up. "Sure, I'll come."

I smiled uneasily. Did Meiling see us talking? I know she was on the phone while we were alone. Did she have some sort of crazy idea to hook us up? Is this all a joke?

"Well, I'll be going now. I have to finish my homework and make dinner and stuff." I called as I slipped out the front door.

Meiling halted my retreat to my apartment. "Hold it right there, dear cousin of mine. You're coming with us."

* * *

-Tomoyo-  
-At the Piffle Princess Amusement Park-

I waited patiently by the front gate of the amusement park with Eriol-kun for the others to arrive. Somehow in the ten minutes we've spent waiting, I've just observed something completely absurd from the teenagers passing us by. The girls would shoot Eriol-kun a flirtatious smile and frown deeply at me. On the other hand, the guys would shoot me the flirtatious smile and glare intensely at Eriol-kun.

Why?

I took me a few moments of thinking when it finally hit me. They were jealous! Of two friends standing together!

I took a long look at the boy beside me. I had to admit, Eriol-kun was extremely handsome. I wondered how could someone like him become an outcast in the first place. Of course, I'm not judging by looks alone but everything about him seems to draw people to him.

"Tomoyo-chan, what time did Meiling say to meet?" Eriol-kun's voice drew me out of my thoughts.

"4:45. Why?"

"They're late. And knowing from pasting experiences, Syaoran-kun is never late."

I frowned at Eriol-kun's last statement. "Perhaps they were held up in traffic."

"I don't think so." the other teen responded with a smile and looked over my shoulder. Curious, I turned around and saw Meiling-chan, Li-kun, and Sakura-chan running towards us.

"Gomen nasai for being late!" Sakura-chan gasped out.

I smiled and faked an angry pout. "Kinomoto Sakura! In all our high school years, never have I known a time for you to be late!" A lie, because actually didn't know if it was true or not.

My friends stared at me for a moment and Sakura-san was completely confused.

"Nani ka? Why the confused faces?" I asked, confusion creeping into my heart as well.

"Tomoyo-chan, that's not Kinomoto Sakura-san." Eriol-kun said from behind me.

Li-kun's voice broke through my confused thoughts.

"He's right, Tomoyo-san. That's Sakura Athene."

* * *

-At the Daidouji Residence-

I was so confused. I knew for certain that the girl who was with us was not Sakura Athene, but was none other than Kinomoto Sakura.

But why is it that I was the only one who saw it?

It was almost as if I could see past the makeup and look into her emerald eyes, see into the depths of her soul.

_Get a grip Tomoyo! See into the depths of her soul, how desperate are you? Just because she looks exactly like your rather lonesome friend..._

I sat up from my bed in shock and grabbed the nearest magazine with Sakura Athene's picture on it. I ran to my shelf and found last year's freshman yearbook, searching for Sakura-chan's name.

"I wonder..." I murmured to myself.

I scanned the two pictures and turned on my computer. Using one of the many art programs available to me, I placed the two images side by side.

"Add make-up." I muttered.

Within five minutes, I had reached the result. Amazing what some glittering green eye shadow, eyeliner, and pink lip gloss does to a person.

The images matched perfectly.

* * *

-Syaoran-

I waited impatiently for the switchboard operator to connect me to Akizuki Nakuru's office. According to Eriol, his cousin worked the 3 pm to 8 pm office shift. It was only seven in the evening, so Akizuki should still be in her office.

"Moshi moshi, Akizuki desu. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is Li Xiao Lang, calling about your recent interview with Miralni Sakura Athene-san. I have a few questions and I would like to meet with you sometime tomorrow."

"Certainly Li-san. Would tomorrow morning at ten a.m. be good?" Akizuki said.

"Yes. Please meet me at LunaSoleil cafe near your office. Until then Akizuki-san." I hung up the phone and slid down to the floor.

Finally, some answers at last.

* * *

Done! Yes! And I have a cliffhanger to work the next chapter! Life's been good.

Once again, I apologize for the seven month long wait, and I realize that all the excuses in the world won't make up for it. I think this may be my best chapter so far, my writing has been absolutely horrible for the past couple chapters. Please review! I update a lot faster when I have a ton of motivation for some odd reason...

Ja ne!  
Callista Miralni


	24. Sleeping Affection

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

OH YEAH!!! GUESS WHO'S BACK???

After officially taking a whole year off (and updating a grand total of three times), I AM BACK IN BUSINESS!!!

I had some odd fascination with _Naruto _during the latter part of the year (and it's still there by the way) but I would never forsake my precious CardCaptor Sakura manga and fanfiction.

Even if I was "curiously" absent from the section for a good ten months.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, reviewers and readers, I present to you, the long awaited Chapter 25!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. If I did, there would've been a sequel series to the sequel series. :p

* * *

-Chapter 25-  
-Hidden Secrets: Sleeping Affection-  
-Sunday-  
-LunaSoleil Cafe-  
-Syaoran-

Focus.

C'mon, Syaoran! Focus!

As I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I willed myself to mold to the image of a representative of the Li family business.

Which happened to deal with the fashion and magazine industry.

Or, at least a part of the vast publishing company did.

I glanced at my watch. 9:55- I could wait at the table now.

The waiter came by my table and I ordered an iced lemon tea. Okaa-san said that iced tea or coffee makes a good impression on business partners and Akizuki Nakuru was my unknowing partner in the quest for the truth.

True to her word, Akizuki arrived at 10 am sharp.

"Ohayo Gozaimasu Li-san. Have you been waiting long?"

I shook my head. "Iie. Have a seat Akizuki-san and order something on me."

I half-expected her to protest but she only answered, "Arigato. I hope it's not a burden to you," before the waiter came by a second time and took her order.

"Now then," I began, going straight to business. "The Li Corporation is thinking of doing an article in their fashion/celebrity magazine similar to the Sakura Athene article in _Tomoeda Talks_. However, my mother has asked me to gather sufficient enough information to begin our research. We will, of course, name you and _Tomoeda Talks_ magazine as one of our primary sources."

I wasn't lying; my mother did think of doing such a thing but the research wouldn't begin until late next winter.

"Alright. Where should I start?"

* * *

-One Hour Later-

By the time I had completed my meeting with Akizuki, the stormy clouds had already released the first wave of rain that day. I walked past Penguin Park and saw a familiar head of auburn hair.

Curious, I walked towards the park bench and stood behind Kinomoto, waiting for her overly hyped-up senses to register my presence like always.

There was no response from her.

Slightly worried, I walked over to the other side of the park bench. "Kinomoto?"

Her green eyes, glazed over, stared at me lifelessly. I felt her forehead, only to discover she was burning up with a fever.

"Kuso!" I swore, before kneeling down and sliding her onto my back. I had no idea where Kinomoto lived, so I took her back to my apartment.

Setting the fever-delirious girl on a towel placed on my bed, I peeled away her thin jacket, socks and soaked-through sneakers. Realizing I had nothing dry for her to change into, I ran next door into Meiling's apartment.

"Meiling!" I yelled as I entered her home.

"What?!" She yelled back, irritation dripping from her voice. My cousin looked up at me over her bowl of cereal and her anime on TV.

"I need some clothes."

"For what?" my cousin asked incredulously. "Who's the unlucky girl who's been fooling around with you in the rain?"

I rolled my eyes. Why did women have to be so difficult at the most crucial times? "That unlucky girl happens to be Kinomoto Sakura, who is also sick with a fever!"

Kinomoto's name had an interesting effect on my cousin. Before I even realized it, I was back in my own apartment with Meiling.

"Where is she?"

"My room." I answered wearily.

"Hey- go change into something dry. I can't have you sick too." Meiling said before throwing me shorts and a t-shirt and locking me out of my room.

By the time Meiling let me back in my room, she had already dried, dressed and tucked Kinomoto under the covers.

"Will you help me take care of her?"

Meiling shook her head. "Sorry Syaoran. I have gymnastics from 12 to 4 today."

The phone in Meiling's apartment began to ring, echoing through the open apartment door.

"I have to answer that." Meiling apologized and ran out of my apartment, taking Kinomoto's wet clothes with her.

I sighed for what seemed like the billionth time today and pulled up my desk chair beside the bed.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

-Meiling-

"Hello?" I said breathlessly, snatching the phone from its cradle and nearly knocking over a lamp in the process.

_"Hello? Meiling? This is Eriol."_

"Eriol! What's up? It's highly unusual for you to call me." I answered brightly.

_"I have Kinomoto Toya here in my house. He's looking for Sakura Athene-san."_ Eriol answered gravely.

"Sakura Athene's gone missing?" I asked incredulously. This day was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

_"Kinomoto-san said that she was last seen roaming around my neighborhood. But he said that he and his staff have searched the whole place and couldn't find her."_

"What is she wearing?" I asked. Stupid question, I know, but it might help if I spot the singer from a distance!

_"Hold on- let me ask."_

I waited impatiently as Eriol went to ask the bodyguard. Growing tired of the silence, I rummaged through my fridge for something to drink.

_"She's wearing a light grey zip-up hoodie jacket, loose green pants with pockets on the side by the knees, and a white t-shirt."_

I frowned and looked at the wet clothes sitting on my kitchen counter.

"Eriol- ask him if the pants have a pink butterfly sewn on the flap covering the pockets." I said, holding up Sakura-chan's soaked pants.

I could hear faint murmurings in the background before my cousin answered. _"Yes. Why?"_

I shook my head and answered. "Nothing- I'll see you in a few minutes."

* * *

The cheerful ringtone of Mizuki Kaho's cell phone rang from her purse, interrupting the older woman's thoughts and causing her younger cousin to pause from her cooking preparations.

Tomoyo was curious. Her cousin had an unusually serious look on her face as she conversed on the phone with someone. Realizing that she was eavesdropping, Tomoyo blushed and returned to searching the kitchen for the can of tomato sauce for her lasagna.

"Tomoyo."

The teen looked up, curiosity etching her pale features.

"Stop what you're doing. Toya-kun called us for an emergency meeting at the Hiiragizawa residence."

Tomoyo frowned. She had rarely met with her cousin's boyfriend and didn't know him all that well. Why did he want her presence?

The teen began to follow her cousin out the door but stopped when she passed the office.

"Kaho- wait a moment." Tomoyo called as she dashed into the room and grabbed her laptop computer.

Tomoyo ran after Kaho, careful not to slip on the slick surface, clutching her computer tightly in her hands.

She didn't know why she brought the computer.

It was simply intuition.

* * *

-Eriol-

I eyed the dark-haired man sitting in my living room, conversing familiarly with my cousin, who lived with my family and I.

"Nakuru- you know Kinomoto-san?"

My cousin, Akizuki Nakuru, looked at me and cheerfully said, "Of course! He's my Yuki-kun's darling best friend and Kaho's boyfriend! Hell, if Kaho wasn't dating him, then I sure would!"

The room grew silent as no one said a word in response to Nakuru's awkward explanation.

"Um… right… whatever Akizuki." Kinomoto-san muttered under his breath.

"I'm here!" Meiling burst out as she ran into my house and into my living room.

"Toya-kun, mind telling us what this is all about?" Mizuki-sensei asked her boyfriend. She and Tomoyo-san had come in right after Meiling did.

The man froze for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "My charge, Sakura Athene Miralni has gone missing."

That simple statement did wonders on the older people of the group. I started to wonder if it was some kind of code phrase that only Mizuki-sensei, Nakuru, and Kinomoto-san knew because their calm faces just changed in an instant.

"Who is she? Sakura Athene, I mean." Tomoyo-san cut in.

Meiling and I gave her a look. What on earth? Tomoyo-san knew perfectly well who Sakura Athene was. We met the singer backstage after her Tomoeda concert.

"Daidouji-san, surely you know that Sakura Athene is a recording artist." Nakuru answered carefully.

Tomoyo-san shook her head. "Who is she really? You have to give me a valid explanation for this."

Tomoyo-san started up her laptop and waited for the operating system to load. She then searched for the file she was looking for, whatever that may have been.

"Explain to me why an internationally famous recording artist would bear a striking resemblance to the kaijuu of Seijuu Private High School."

She turned her laptop towards us and I felt Meiling stiffen beside me.

There were four pictures set in a sort of 'before-and-after' style. The first set showed Sakura Athene Miralni and Kinomoto Sakura side by side. The resemblance was very faint; you could simply glance at the photographs and never think they looked alike.

The second set however had been given a digital makeover. It too, showed Sakura Athene Miralni and Kinomoto Sakura, but this time there was no resemblance. The pictures were of the exact same girl, only in different clothes.

"How-?" Meiling choked out.

Tomoyo shook her head. "I don't know. Care to tell us, Kinomoto-san?"

Kinomoto-san ignored her request and asked, "How did you figure it out?"

"That day Meiling invited all of us to the amusement park. Sakura Athene was with us and I thought she was Kinomoto Sakura-chan. I was positive that the girl with us was Sakura-chan so when I went home, I did this." She explained.

"The clothes…." Meiling said. "Syaoran-kun brought home a soaking wet, fever-delirious Sakura-chan. When I changed her clothes, I took her wet ones back to my apartment to launder them. She was wearing the clothes Eriol told me Sakura Athene was wearing when she disappeared."

Kinomoto-san looked at me, as if he was expecting for me to have some sort of explanation of my own. I shook my head and simply said, "I always knew she was different from all the other outcasts. Now I know why."

The three older adults looked at each other and nodded in some sort of agreement.

"So, care to tell us the truth?" I asked, leaning back lazily in my armchair.

* * *

-Syaoran-

I woke up with a start, my muscles screaming in pain from the sudden blood circulation. I had fallen asleep in a chair while Kinomoto slept in my bed.

She was looking better and from feeling her forehead, her fever was going down. I took the opportunity to study her face while she slept.

Kinomoto Sakura was pretty and I was surprised I didn't notice it before. It's not like we haven't spent the last twelve weeks at school together for that stupid Friendship project in Morality.

She looked a bit pale from lack of sleep. I was surprised by that realization. Why on earth would an outcast, shunned by the society of Seijuu High, lack sleep? It couldn't be that she would stay up late studying; Kinomoto had the grades to prove that she was intelligent without trying.

But, there was something different about her than before that I could not place. As I struggled to figure it out, my fingers absentmindedly played with her honey-auburn strands of hair.

It clicked.

She had cut her hair, from waist length to shoulder length.

I was pretty surprised by the sudden, drastic change. Then again, she was being harassed by Amai Masahiro the day before she disappeared for a whole week. Was there something in the past between Amai and Kinomoto?

Why do I even bother? The moment she wakes up and realizes what happened, I know as a fact that she's going to act as if nothing had changed between us. Kinomoto Sakura was, after all, a pretty decent actress.

I stared at her face once more. To me, it seemed like the longer I gazed at her, the more hypnotized by her mysterious aura and her serenely calm face I became. Why couldn't she ever be this calm (not that she wasn't calm to begin with) at school? She would have been immensely popular among the junior class.

I guess it was just another aspect of Kinomoto Sakura I had to consider.

* * *

Oh my… that was an absolutely horrible chapter!!!!!!!! I should probably hide in a hole from all my disappointed readers… dear God…

But! I will make it up to you!

Ja ne!  
Callista Miralni


	25. Coming Out with the Truth

Fallen Through

By: Callista Miralni

Hello! First _Fallen Through_update of the new year! The fic's been going strong for three years now with 146 reviews so far! I know I didn't update much last year and the year before and I got really behind with the story, but hopefully this year will be better.

During my off-years from the story, I learned a lot, emotionally and mentally. I'm hoping to put these experiences in the story, seeing as how _Fallen Through_ relies solely on emotion, not just detail, to achieve the effect that seems to keep you guys reading, reviewing, and loving this story. I really want to thank all my reviewers, the new and especially the old, for your constant support and encouragement. Without you guys, there would be no story!

So I've decided that over the summer, when I have more time, I'm going to take all the chapters so far and edit the "fanfiction" element out of them, creating a story that is uniquely my own. It'll be posted on fictionpress(dot)com so look for it there under the same title. Who knows, the fiction version might do just as well as the fanfiction does!

So, without further ado, I, Callista Athene Miralni, present and take no credit for the original CCS:

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Six-  
-Stripped: Coming Out with the Truth  
-Eriol-

"So, care to tell us the truth?" I asked, leaning back lazily in my armchair.

Kinomoto-san looked at me suspiciously. "Why do you want to know? You're not friends with my sister. None of you are, except for Meiling here."

Tomoyo-san looked at him angrily. "Yes we are! We may have not known Sakura-chan as long as Meiling-chan has but we care about her! Kinomoto-san, please tell us. We want to help heal Sakura-chan, to help her become the person I know she really is inside."

"It's not a pretty story." Kinomoto-san said grimly.

"And we're ready to hear a tragic fairytale." I answered back.

* * *

-Flashback: Nine Years Ago-

"Wahhh!! Meiling-chan, why do you have to leave?" Seven-year-old Kinomoto Sakura wailed, clutching on to her Chinese friend's arm.

Rae Meiling choked back her tears. "The Elders want me to. They want me to work as a gymnast professionally."

"Calling all passengers on Flight 294 with service to Hong Kong. Repeat, all passengers on Flight 294 with service to Hong Kong, you are boarding the plane now."

"Write to me Meiling-chan! Promise me we'll be friends forever!" Sakura said, holding out her pinky.

Meiling stared at her friend in shock but then smiled and locked her pinkie with Sakura's. "Friends forever."

* * *

-Five Years Later-

"Watashi wa Amai Kaori desu. Hajishimashite, minna-san." A girl with dark brown hair bowed in front of the class.

Sakura regarded her passively before returning to staring out the window.

Whatever...

* * *

-At Lunch-

"Hey- can I sit here?"

Sakura looked down and saw Amai-san underneath her cherry tree, waiting for a response from the silent girl.

"I don't care." she answered indifferently and continued to eat her onigiri.

"Say- you don't talk much or hang out with the other kids, do you?"

Sakura jumped down and mockingly applauded the girl. "Thank you Captain Obvious. If you'll excuse me, I have something to do in the art room."

A week later, the friendship was born.

A year later, the tyranny began.

* * *

-One Year Later-

"Did you see him, Sakura-chan? The new Chinese exchange student? He's so hot!"

Sakura stiffened at the mention of 'Chinese exchange student.' "No Kaorin, I didn't. What's so special about him?"

"Li Syaoran, Sakura-chan! Li-kun is so hot!" Kaorin squealed.

The two 'friends' reached their lockers. "By the way Sakura-chan, did you finish my essay?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hell no. Do your own homework."

Kaorin froze and regarded her coldly. "Do as I say, Sakura-chan. One thousand word essay, is that so hard? After all, you should be grateful to me for all that I've done for you, _kaijuu_. One slip of my mouth and all your darkest secrets would be spilled to those who abhor your existence."

Sakura glared at her with an equally cold stare. "We're in the eighth grade Amai Kaorin. Don't threaten me with your empty threats."

Before Sakura even registered what was going on, Kaorin had pulled a pocket knife out of her pocket, grabbed Sakura's slim wrist and made a cut, drawing blood. The girl gasped at the sudden pain from her wrist and clutched it tightly, hoping to stem the blood flow.

"Maybe this will teach you not to mess with me Kinomoto Sakura."

* * *

"That, that, _bitch _cut her?!" Meiling screamed horrified.

Kinomoto-san nodded. "Not just cut, but Kaorin also physically beat Sakura up without giving her a chance to fight back. My sister was usually held down by the jocks who were three times her weight. You could possibly guess the rest seeing as how quickly I know gossip spreads around Seijuu."

"I do remember hearing that Sakura-chan cuts herself." I said. "Even the outcasts, rebels, and nerds feared her, for we thought of her as being dangerous and volatile."

"They say Amai Kaorin was wrongfully expelled by Sakura-chan because Sakura-chan lied to the administration and claimed that Amai-san was abusing her. I suppose that while everyone thinks that Amai-san was unfairly punished, I think that it was rightfully deserved now that I know the real story." Tomoyo added.

Nakuru took a step forward and spoke up for the first time since Kinomoto-san started telling Sakura-san's story. "Do you realize that you're now sworn to protect Sakura at all costs?"

We jolted in shock. "What do you mean?" I demanded. Is this some kind of sick induction into a secret cult?

"Kinomoto Sakura cannot reveal her identity to the general public, as she promised her father. Can you imagine the consequences behind that, especially since Sakura has a death threat hanging over her head? Kaorin would be ten times more famous if she managed to murder a sixteen-year-old multi-platinum recording artist. She'd get even more publicity for murdering Sakura than she would if she had ruled as Seijuu High's queen." Mizuki-sensei answered.

"We also know that Amai Kaorin is even more volatile and unstable than my sister. Did you know that Kaorin ordered her older brother Masahiro to rape Sakura when they were freshman? Masahiro, being a jackass, was only too happy to comply. He lusted after Sakura and if I hadn't walked in the room when he was about to do it..." Kinomoto-san shook his head ruefully.

"Don't worry Toya-san. We'll protect Sakura. After all, I think we've been doing that since we met her." Meiling reassured the man.

I turned away and stared out the window. Sakura-chan, with such a gruesome and dark past like that, I couldn't have blamed her for turning cold.

I couldn't, even if I tried, understand the pain that she was going through just living each and every day.

* * *

-Monday-  
-Seijuu High-  
-Sakura-

I walked through the hallways in a daze, my mind totally focused on the events that transpired last Saturday night. I had woken up in an unfamiliar room, wearing someone else's clothes, and to Li Syaoran's face.

Do you have any idea how discomforting and scary that is?

Yeah, sure, my scream woke him up from his nap. It also warranted a visit from Meiling next door who had heard me scream. I was so embarrassed, and come to think of it, I'm still embarrassed.

"Er... Kinomoto?"

I jumped slightly, my body tensing at the sound of the tenor voice. "What?" I asked, hoping my cold mask covered up the anxiety I felt inside.

Li regarded me oddly. "Are you alright? You look kinda spaced out."

Speechless that he was able to read me so easily, I brushed away his concern and answered, "I'm fine."

He followed me all the way to class. I forgot that we had sixth hour Religion together.

"Sakura-chan! Li-kun! Over here!" Tomoyo waved me over to the table where Meiling, Eriol, and she were sitting. We walked over towards our group and sat down, waiting for Kenji-sensei to start class.

"Okay class! Today's marks the final week in which our friendship project will come to a close on a daily basis in the classroom. We will be doing some wrap-up class work and yes, there will be an essay!"

"Essays? Why?" One of the jocks, I think it was that dumbass Riku, yelled. "That screws with soccer practice! Isn't that right Captain?"

All eyes focused on the teen beside me. "Well, that depends on the essays that Kenji-sensei gives us." Li answered evasively.

Kenji-sensei grinned at the Soccer Team Captain's favorable response. "You heard him Yamato Riku. Li-taichou says that homework comes first."

"Anyways, your essay will be private and personal thoughts regarding the people that you have befriended and learned about these past nine weeks. I know I said that at the beginning of this project that the due date would be at the end of the school year. Yes, this due date still holds true, but this week concludes the Morality portion of the project."

"You may be wondering why you're taking Morality to begin with. Morality is often associated with religion, right? But what we're studying is essentially religion, not in the Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, etc. sense, but in the core principals of world religions. The moral values that help to shape and either better or worsen the declining morality of modern society. The school dearly hopes that by the time you graduate and enter the real world, you would have had instilled in you by your families and by the school some basic moral values that will help to better our society. Friendship is one of these moral values, but so many of you have so many friends! How are we to differentiate between our true friends, the ones who will lift us up and support us, and those who call themselves our friends for mere convenience? We can't. How are we to make new friends among all classes of society when we are too afraid to extend a kind hand for fear of our reputation? This is the true purpose of this project."

I quietly listened to Kenji-sensei's explanation. His words rang true in my mind and I stored this lecture in my memory, hoping to use it in a poem or a song later on.

"Your essay will consist of an introduction, three or four body paragraphs, depending on the number of people in your group, and a conclusion. Proper MLA format will be required. You are also required to use the twelve sentence structure that you use in your English class." Kenji-sensei explained. "This essay is due two weeks before the end of the school year. Which, by the way people, is in four weeks and that's not a lot of time. The faculty will know if you are 'bull-shitting' your essay and you will fail this required class. _Do I make myself clear_?"

The class mumbled a sort of "Hai, Kenji-sensei" before he let us have the rest of the class time to talk amongst ourselves.

"So Sakura-san, why did you cut your hair?" Eriol asked me suddenly.

Beside me, Meiling fingered the short honey-brown tresses pulled back in a ponytail. "I think it's cute Eriol."

"I needed a change." I answered. "Long hair is too troublesome when everyone in the junior class wants to skin you alive."

"We don't want to skin you alive." Li muttered from my other side.

I glared at the teen. "Well, you seem to be the exception to every rule created." I answered scathingly.

Li flashed me a lazy smile. "Damn straight I am."

"So, what're your plans for the summer?" Tomoyo asked, quickly changing the subject to maintain peace.

Meiling groaned. "Gym, gym, gym, and oh, did I mention gym?" She moaned, fixing her cousins with a pointed glare.

"Hey- not my fault. With me it was either compete in martial arts like you are with gym or play soccer for Seijuu and college." Li shrugged.

"I'm not doing anything." Eriol answered. "What about you Tomoyo-san?"

Tomoyo beamed. "I'm launching my designs this summer. Right now, I'm working on a deal to have Sakura Athene be my first promotional star. I might get to go on tour with her this summer!"

I raised an eyebrow, trying to remember if Ayame mentioned anything of the sort to me before. Gritting my teeth, it hit me then that my cousin-turned-manager was cutting deals with Tomoyo behind my back. Some cousin she is.

"I need to get a job." Li mentioned off-handedly. "What about you Kinomoto-san?"

Coming from Li, the question caught me completely off guard. "Umm... I think I'm touring all summer with Sakura Athene. She's doing a tour all over Japan and needs help backstage." I lied right on the spot. Well, it wasn't technically a lie- I was touring all summer but not as a backstage hand.

"Really? Maybe Syaoran could get a job with Miralni-san. That would be cool." Meiling piqued.

I could feel Li's gaze on me. "You'd have to talk to Tsukishiro Ayame then. She's the backstage manager and Sakura's manager." I answered coolly.

"Really then." Li said flatly. "Then I'll go talk to her after school."

Something in his words made a chill run up my spine. The bell rang and I escaped the room as fast as I could possibly go.

* * *

-Later-  
-Li Residence-  
-Syaoran-

Tugging my hair with frustration, I looked at the essay I had written for Daidouji- er, Tomoyo-san. I had already written my paragraphs over Eriol and Meiling but those were easy. I knew them well enough to rattle off their entire life's story for a large audience.

_Daidouji Tomoyo is a true friend. She is a caring individual, willing to give others a chance at friendship. To me, she best embodies the qualities of a true friend. Tomoyo-san taught me many things since we started this project. One of them is that despite all appearances..._

"People sometimes aren't who they seem. Tomoyo-san taught me that there are some people who are more beautiful and deserving of friendship than others make them to be." I muttered to myself.

Looking at my paragraph again, I highlighted the entire thing and deleted it with the touch of a button. It was crap- I didn't need to be a genius to figure that out.

Deciding a breath of fresh air was needed to calm my nerves, I stepped outside onto the balcony. A familiar figure grabbed my attention at the edge of my vision and I couldn't resist calling out.

"Hey!"

Sakura Athene looked up from the street to see me waving frantically at her from my balcony. She grinned and casually waved back. "Hey yourself Li."

"Why don't you come up here for a while?" I invited. I honestly don't know what possessed me to do such a thing, but whatever.

"You sure? It's getting late- I'm sure you have stuff to do before tomorrow."

"Just get up here Miralni. I wanna ask you something anyways without waking up my neighbors."

The few minutes seemed like ages when my doorbell finally rang, announcing the singer to my home.

"You called?" She teased me, a wide smirk adorning her lips.

"Come in." I sat her down on my couch and disappeared into my kitchen to grab a bottle of soda and the box of chocolate chip cookies (my personal addiction).

"Want some?" I offered, pouring the girl a glass of Fresca.

She nodded gratefully and took the offered glass. "So what's up Li?"

"Wow, straight to the point are we? Let's converse awhile: what were you doing out so late?" I smirked.

She caught on to my subtle sarcasm. "Meeting with my managers at a nearby cafe. We're planning on doing a charity tour throughout coastal Japan. Ayame wanted to get started and organize the whole thing."

I was startled that my opportunity had come so immediately into our conversation. "Really? I heard from a certain somebody that you were looking for backstage help with that tour. Any chance I could join the crew?"

Sakura gave me an unreadable look. "Who told you that?"

"Kinomoto Sakura. Know her by any chance?"

Although it seemed wrong to me at first, looking back on it, I'm glad I took this opportunity to observe. Sakura Athene's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, before settling into one of recognition.

"Oh yeah. Kinomoto-kun's sister. She doesn't talk much but she's a great help to Ayame backstage. Kinomoto-chan's kinda like Ayame's personal assistant."

"Huh, is that so? What else do you know about her?"

She flashed me a wry smile, emerald eyes bright with curiosity. "Why so interested? You know her or something? Or do you have a secret crush on her?"

I flushed, unsure of how to react. Yet again that same comment appeared. How unnerving.

"I sorta know her. We have a class together and she's the one who told me about the charity tour and the backstage help."

"What do _you _think of her Li-kun?"

I was caught off-guard by the question. What do I think of Kinomoto? She's interesting enough, shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Kinomoto possess a kind of charisma that draws people to her.

"She's not at all the person people claim her to be. If it weren't for my stupidity, I think we would've been friends by now."

Sakura Athene studied me for a moment. After what seemed like an eternity, she glanced at the clock and took note of the time.

"I better go before Kinomoto-kun sends the Army and the Navy after me and turns Tomoeda upside down searching for me. Thanks for having me over." She quietly excused herself.

I showed her to the door. "Thanks for keeping me company for a while." I said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

She nodded absentmindedly before stepping out the door. I turned to walk back into my apartment when I heard her call my name.

"Li?"

"Yeah?"

"Just for the record," she said, drawing in a deep breath. "You're not at all who people claim you to be either."

I stared after her, gaze unreadable but I flashed her a lazy smile. "Thanks."

Sakura Athene casually waved goodbye before disappearing down the hallway. A sense of premonition struck me as I watched her leave.

It almost seemed as if this wouldn't be the last time Sakura would leave my apartment like that.

* * *

-Saturday-  
-Daidouji Mansion-  
-Tomoyo-

The phone rang in my room. I checked the caller I.D. but did not immediately recognize the name 'Tsukishiro Ayame' or the phone number.

The image of Sakura-chan's homework from weeks ago ran through my mind but I dismissed the thought and picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshi, Daidouji Tomoyo speaking."

"Ah, Daidouji-san. This is Tsukishiro Ayame, backstage manager for Sakura Athene. How are you today?"

Ah, the formalities of keigo. Being born in the upper-class forced one to learn it and to exercise it when the occasion rose. I, of course, was a master at it.

But then again, so would Tsukishiro-san be.

"Fine, thank you Tsukishiro-san. And you?"

The woman on the other end sighed but answered in a cheerful voice, "Excellent. Is now a good time to talk to you?"

"About our arrangement?" I clarified, sitting down at my desk and pulling out a marked manila folder from the file cabinet.

"Yes. If you're available this evening, I would like to sit down with you for dinner, along with a few of my colleagues and Sakura herself to discuss the issue. You are, of course, welcome to bring anyone along with you."

Glancing swiftly at my desk planner, I noticed the evening's slot was empty. "Sure, that's fine with me. Time and venue?"

"Does six o'clock at the _Hanabi_ work for you?"

"Done. I'll see you there Tsukishiro-san." I made a motion to hang up when the manager's voice floated through the speakers.

"Oh, Daidouji-san? There's no need to dress formally- just something comfortable but classy."

I smiled in spite of myself. "Of course."

* * *

-Meiling-

I stepped out of the shower from my afternoon workout, freshly cleaned and more awake than I had been all day. Wrapping my hair up in a towel, I quickly entered my darkened room and picked up the clothes I laid out earlier that afternoon.

Tomoyo called and invited me to dinner at the _Hanabi_, along with Syaoran and Eriol. She was having a dinner meeting with Sakura Athene and her manager about the modeling arrangement Tomoyo spoke of earlier in the week.

I was excited to say the least. I hadn't been to one of these business dinners in so long, not one between a teenager and an adult at least. The last one was when Syaoran was convincing the Elders to let him move to Japan...

"Meiling? You done dressing up yet?"

Speak of the Devil, my cousin himself.

"Yeah." I called through the closed door. "Just give me a minute to do my hair."

Pulling the raven locks into my usual pigtails, I secured each of them with a long, blood-red ribbon. I slid the gold bracelet my mother gave me for my birthday last year and fastened the heart-shaped ruby necklace Sakura gave me years ago around my neck.

"Are you done yet?" I could hear the impatience in Syaoran's voice.

Sighing impatiently, I yanked my door open and stormed out. "I'm dressed. Let's go." I snapped back. Hey, if he was gonna give me lip, there's no way I'd go down without a fight.

It was one of those rare occasions that Syaoran allowed Wei to drive us anywhere in Tomoeda. The imported British Bentley, air-lifted all the way from Hong Kong, was waiting for us in front of the apartment complex. Wei, acting in butler mode, opened the door for us and we slid in.

"The _Hanabi_." Syaoran said in a cool, clipped voice.

Wei, used to this formality, smiled in spite of himself. "Of course, Bocchama."

* * *

-The Hanabi-

"Tsukishiro party."

Upon entering the high-class restaurant, a familiar head of raven caught my eye, escorted by yet another head of raven shot with midnight blue. I smirked upon hearing her voice; Tomoyo sounded exactly like one of those rich snobs that you see on TV all the time.

The maître, also used to this treatment, scanned the seating chart quickly. "Ah, if you will wait a moment, Miss, Kira will escort you to your table."

Eriol nodded and they scooted off to the side to get out of the way for the next person in line. I practically dragged Syaoran over towards them.

"Hey! I'm so glad you could make it!" Tomoyo said softly and with a hint of a smile.

"Tomoyo-san, if I had known you were bringing Eriol along as your date, I would have found someone other than Syaoran to bring me." I smirked.

Tomoyo colored faintly and shook her head. "Iie, that's not it Meiling. Eriol-kun offered when I called him. There's no need to have a date. Besides, Li-kun is always welcome to join us. I invited him too."

"Tsukishiro party? If you'll follow me, I will bring you to your table." A waiter said.

We followed him to the back of the restaurant, to the tables overlooking the garden in the back. The other members of the party were already seated; I noticed that Mizuki-sensei, Akizuki-san, Tsukishiro Yukito-san and Kinomoto-san were all there along with some other girl our age sitting at the opposite end of the table from them.

However, I did not count on Kinomoto Sakura being there, sitting next to that other girl.

I gave Tomoyo a glance, but she gave me a look that clearly read, "Act natural." Sakura-chan did not know that we knew her secret.

Neither did Syaoran.

"Ah, Daidouji-san, I'm glad you brought some friends with you. It would have been boring if it was just us three teens among these old people." The girl spoke, ushering Tomoyo to the empty seat beside her.

I gently pushed Eriol into the chair besides Tomoyo and sat next to him. Across from me, Syaoran took a seat next to Sakura. Her emerald green eyes flashed for a moment, before settling into a pleasant look.

Damn, she was a good actress.

Syaoran showed no sign of discomfort sitting next to the singer. He greeted her politely and with one of his infamous smirks before accepting the menu the waiter handed him.

I was floored. Since when did my cousin do that? To Kinomoto Sakura of all people?

Then I remembered that the teen in front of me was not my rebellious, outcast best friend, but a multi-million dollar celebrity recording artist. She was the same Sakura but at the same time she wasn't.

"I believe some introductions are needed." The teen said, casting each of us a calculating look. "After all, I can't call you guys 'you with the hair' all night long."

Sakura sighed and gave the girl a look. "Ayame, that was a lame attempt at sarcasm."

She sounded just like the Sakura I knew. I worried for a moment that Syaoran would figure out her identity by the end of the evening.

"Sakura, not everyone has your gift of instantaneous sarcastic comments. Those of us without must make every attempt to build their own skill." The Ayame girl answered.

"Tsukishiro Ayame, at your service. I'm the manager for Sakura Athene over here on my left. As you can see, we get along very well."

I was shocked- so was everyone else I think. We had expected Tsukishiro Ayame to be older, perhaps to be Mizuki-sensei's age. But a teen our age? Now _that_ was unexpected.

"We don't get along at all." Sakura grumbled.

Ayame reached over to clamp a hand over the girl's mouth. "Ignore her; she doesn't know what's good for her. After all, that's why I'm her manager and she's the singer."

Eriol, impressed by her bluntness, offered her a hand. "Hiiragizawa Eriol, Tsukishiro-san. It was kind of you to invite us."

"Tsukishiro-san is someone else. Please, I'm Ayame- after all, my brother is here as well and he's also Tsukishiro-san."

Eriol nodded and gave her one of his unreadable smiles. "To my right is Daidouji Tomoyo, but you already know her. And to my left is my cousin, Rae Meiling."

I reached over Eriol to shake her hand. Ayame took it and said, "Rae Meiling? You're the gymnast my grandfather sponsors right?"

"Your grandfather?" I echoed tonelessly. What was she talking about?

"Yeah. He's the owner of Amamiya Tech, your primary sponsor. He's related to me through my mother's side." Ayame answered.

She turned to Syaoran and asked, "And who might you be, fine... young... gentleman who... refuses to give me his name?"

"Ayame you're being ridiculous." Sakura muttered, hiding behind her menu.

I eyed Syaoran, prompting him with my eyes to answer.

"Li Syaoran, Ayame-san. I'm no one important." He said at last.

"Important my ass. I'll bet you five gran that you're related to Hiiragizawa and Rae over here and that you're the heir to Li Corp."

I was stunned- so was everyone else around our side of the table. So she knew exactly who we were. Someone had done their homework.

"My uncle publishes with you guys in your archaeology journal." Ayame explained to answer the silence.

Syaoran nodded and his eyes strayed to Eriol's and mine. I gave him a look, one that clearly screamed, "Be on your guard."

"But enough of that!" Ayame waved her hand. "Let's enjoy dinner first!"

* * *

-Later-  
-Tomoyo-

It was the dessert and coffee course of the dinner. By now it was about eight o'clock and the main seating area of the restaurant was completely filled with people.

"To business Tomoyo-san?"

I smiled to myself. Ayame was good. By addressing me by my first name, Ayame established an equal connection between the two of us. We were now business partners; with any luck, by the end of the night, that connection would be legally binding and without a doubt.

I pulled out the manila folder from the bag I brought with me. I handed her a copy of the packet I made, complete with full color sketches, materials list, and even a schedule of dates when each outfit could be worn during the summer tour.

"That's a lot of work you've done Tomoyo-san. I only expected rough sketches but you've exceeded my expectations." Ayame commented after scanning the packet.

I handed a pile of papers to Eriol and quietly whispered for him to pass them out to everyone around the table.

"That's a lot of outfits Tomoyo-chan." Kaho remarked as she thumbed through her copy of the file.

"Of course there're a lot of outfits Kaho. You know I make more than I actually use."

My cousin laughed. "How could I forget? Daidouji Designs would be no where without you. Daidouji Designs _is_ you."

I then launched into an explanation for my side of the table. Each design was based on the music genre of Sakura Athene's music. Since the girl sang for the alternative rock style, a unique blend of skater punk and symphonic metal, her clothes must also reflect that style.

"You seem well-versed in different music styles to be able to pick that out." Sakura commented.

"She's a musician- Tomoyo will never tell you, but she's the soloist state champion for our prefecture. And she's the first soprano of Seijuu's choir." Eriol answered, earning himself an elbow to his ribs. I hissed his name to shut him up, blushing furiously.

"I own a few of your CDs and listened to them as I was designing the clothes." I explained my inspiration for the design.

The two nodded and Ayame prompted me to explain the use of the silver sakura petals as music notes on a faded staff splashed onto a black background that appeared so frequently in all the designs

"It's kinda neat. Don't you think we could use that for the next CD cover Sakura-chan?"

The said girl shrugged. "Whatever Ayame. The tour is called "Faded Sakura" to promote that album so why not? Ask Tomoyo-san."

I nodded my consent and promised to send the pattern files via email as soon as I could. We went on, picking out different designs, altering a few here and there to make them more tolerable to the summer heat. We went on, talking for an hour and a half. By the time we finished and closed the deal with a handshake, it was ten o'clock and the late night diners were on their main entrees.

"Ayame?" Li-kun asked as we stood up to leave the table.

"Yeah?"

"I heard you were looking for backstage help and I coincidentally need a summer job to occupy my time. Any chance I could..."

Ayame bounced over to him and seized his hand eagerly. "Oh my God, you are heaven sent. Yes we really need backstage hands... good God, how'd you know? I haven't even given the ads to Nakuru to run in _Tomoeda Talks_ or the newspapers."

Li chuckled nervously. "I heard it from a reliable source."

"Who?"

"No one in particular."

"Right." Ayame rolled her eyes. "Tell me, damn it, so I can give them Hell and an extra-long break."

"Er... Kinomoto Sakura."

I held my breath. I didn't think Li-kun would actually blurt out that tidbit of information. Ayame's threat must have hit a nerve to make the normally tight-lipped Li-kun spill. The entire party seemed to hold its breath as we waited anxiously for Ayame's reaction.

"Kinomoto Sakura?" Ayame repeated calmly. She glanced at Sakura-chan before answering. "Oh, I see."

"Is that a bad thing?" Li-kun asked.

"No, not really. It's just... I didn't expect you to hear that from Kinomoto-chan of all people. Quiet as a mouse, no offence Toya."

The man grunted. "Well, it's not my fault the kaijuu- I mean Sakura- is the way she is. Blame that stupid what's-her-name, Kaorin."

"Now, now Toya, these young adults might be friends with her so watch what you say." Kaho lightly scolded her boyfriend.

Toya snorted. "I doubt that."

Yukito-san laughed. "That's just like you Toya. But Ayame-chan, Li-san is waiting for your answer. You should give it to him before you leave."

The girl colored faintly. "Right. Erm... Li-san, you can work for us. I'll let you know the details later, but you get paid quite nicely for this kind of job. Normally, I would make you hand in a resume and interview you but tonight's enough. Just talk to me sometime after school gets out. Kinomoto-chan would know how to contact me."

* * *

-Syaoran-

I nodded in response and turned to talk to Akizuki-san. I was surprised to see her at this meeting. As a member of the press, I didn't think she would be invited to a private dinner party.

"Li-san! We meet again coincidentally! I didn't realize you knew Daidouji-chan." Akizuki greeted me enthusiastically.

"I'm surprised that you're working at this late hour." I answered back.

Akizuki laughed and held Tsukishiro-san's arm tighter. "Working? Oh no, not me. Tonight, I'm here with my boyfriend, Yuki. And I've known Sakura forever, so of course she would include me, if she knows what good for her."

I looked at her. "So that's how you were able to get an interview with her." I mused aloud.

Akizuki gave me look, one that spoke hidden messages in her eyes. "It's all about the connections Li-san. It's all about the connections."

Indeed, it really was.

* * *

DONE! At long last! I'm really sorry for the late update, but we switched computers completely and I lost my flash drive that had the chapter on it so I was delayed. On top of all that, I had horrible writer's block. I purposely wrote a long chapter so that angry readers will have something to satisfy themselves with. I'm sorry!

Oh yeah as a note: **Bocchama** just means 'young master,' typically the heir of a family.

Please review?

Ja ne!  
Callista Miralni


	26. Backstage Hands

Fallen Through

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: Nothing. By the way, the song is Paramore's _Fences._

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Seven-  
-Stripped: Backstage Hands-  
-Sakura-

Summer.

Ugh.

Summer.

Summer equals heat plus movement plus tour plus Li Syaoran in my face _all the time_.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I really hate Ayame for hiring him. What was she thinking? Doesn't she know that close contact with Li would endanger the secret that I kept for nearly two years?

Of course not, because Ayame's an idiot like that.

* * *

-Syaoran-  
-Later-

_I'm sitting in a room  
Made up of only big white walls  
And in the halls there are  
People looking through  
The window in the door  
They know exactly what we're here for  
Don't look up, just let them think  
There's no place else you'd rather be  
You're always on display  
For everyone to watch and learn from  
Don't you know by now  
You can't turn back  
Because this road is all you'll ever have_

_And it's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh, oh, open wide  
'Cause this is your night  
So... smile  
'Cause you'll go out in style_

_You'll go out in style_

_If you let me, I could  
I'd show you how to build your fences  
Set restrictions, separate from the world  
The constant battle that you hate to fight  
Just blame the limelight  
Don't look up, just let them think  
There's no place else you'd rather be  
And now, you can't turn back  
Because this road is all you'll ever have_

_And it's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh, oh, open wide  
'Cause this is your night  
So... smile_

_Yeah, yeah, you're asking for it  
With every breath that you breathe in,  
Just breathe it in  
Yeah, yeah, well you're just a mess  
You do all this big talking  
So now let's see you walk it  
I said let's see you walk it_

_Yeah, yeah, you're asking for it  
With every breath that you breathe in,  
Just breathe it in  
Yeah, yeah, well you're just a mess  
You do all this big talking  
So now let's see you walk it  
I said let's see you walk it_

_It's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh oh open wide  
Yeah oh oh open wide  
Yeah oh oh open wide  
'Cause you'll go out in style  
You'll go out in style_

Ayame showed me how to work the sound booth and control the special effects just in case the actual tech people (Like Yukito-san, who doubled as Sakura's bodyguard and sound engineer) weren't around when needed. My real job was ensuring the stage was rigged and in perfect working order for the show.

I watched Sakura from the sound booth located in third row of the auditorium. In the three weeks since school let out and I packed up my bags for Sakura Athene's summer tour, I had only seen Kinomoto once. Last week Tomoyo dropped by our present location, Tokyo Dome, with Meiling and Eriol, to give Ayame the first set of costumes. Even though my cousins asked me where Kinomoto was, they didn't seem too concerned about her lack of appearance. The three were awful cozy and comfortable with my employer and her manager.

"Li-kun," the singer called my name from onstage. "Could you make sure Yoh's guitar pedal is hooked up to the speakers? We can't hear any of the effects."

I ducked down and found the cable labeled "Yoh's Pedal ^_^'." It's fixed!" I hollered back.

Sakura nodded to her band mates. "Again?"

The music started playing and I once again became lost in Sakura Athene's voice.

* * *

-Sakura-

God I hate Ayame. But I already said that, and you already knew that.

The little twit was persistent. And determined I'll give him that. He seemed to be everywhere, trying to gain my company.

Then again, it wasn't Kinomoto Sakura's company he craved. No, it was Sakura Athene Miralni's presence that drove him to an almost sickeningly sweet cliché chase.

Like this one time. Oh Kami-sama, I will never forget this one time. And the other forty incidences that followed it.

Li ran into me as I walked backstage to pick up another capo for Ren's bass. I didn't understand how the usually obsessive compulsive, organized man could lose such a thing as his capo but I suppose it happens to the best of us.

"Sakura!"

I freeze every time he calls my name. Unconsciously, a habit from our long weeks together on Kenji-sensei's stupid project. What new and witty remark will he have for me this time to trash my reputation and make me sink even lower before Seijuu's Golden Boy? What strange and comforting gesture will he whip out from his shirt pocket to confuse me even more about his mental state?

He caught up to me, all smiles, one that would make any other girl melt in a puddle of disgusting goo before his feet. I suppose that part of his charm is the fact that he doesn't even realize that he's charming a girl without consciously doing so. Except for me of course.

"Have you been avoiding me?" He asked me.

I cringed but laughed on the outside. "Well Li-kun, this place is pretty big and there are lots of people around. Not really, bugging you too much?"

He laughed. "Geez, you remind me so much of this one girl I worked with on a project in my Morality class. So cynical and to the point."

"Name?" I asked, hoping to throw him off.

Li laughed again. "You know her Sakura. She works for you. Funny thing is-" He paused momentarily and frowned. "- I haven't seen her since the day we left. I've only seen you around."

"Are you hitting on me?" I asked, incredulously. I was even half-scared to entertain the idea myself. In my eagerness to distract him from thoughts of my other side, I asked the stupidest question I could think of.

"Maybe. Will you let me?" He said slyly.

Smooth. Real smooth Li Syaoran. How many pathetic girls have you used that line on and turned their legs to mush?

Shaking my head, I muttered, "You're so pathetic Li-kun. Go hit on someone else. Like Yukito. Rumor has it that he's secretly bi, despite his rather strong and loyal relationship with Nakuru."

I left him gaping, secretly laughing at his shocked expression and doubly pleased with myself for distracting Li Syaoran's overly inquisitive mind from probing my secret any farther. He went too far with a simple observation like that.

But you know… I can't wait to get out of Tokyo Dome. There's something about this place that unsettles me, no matter how many times Toya assures me it's safe. Whenever I'm backstage, especially in the left wing, I always feel like something's watching me, waiting to pounce.

Whatever. It must be nerves and my Kaorin-induced anxiety.

* * *

-Syaoran-

"You do your job pretty well."

I looked up and grunted. "I'm in a band at home remember? Just something for fun with my friends. I'm used to this kinda stuff."

"Sakura-san wanted me to make sure you were doing all right. Why she would care, I would never know."

I straightened up from the floor and looked at the shorter girl in the eye. "Where have you been hiding? Tomoyo, Eriol, and Meiling were looking for you when they came by a week ago."

Kinomoto Sakura shifted her balance. "Busy. I'm Ayame's PA, my job is endless. Hardly anyone sees me around because I'm always running errands for Ayame, my stupid irresponsible cousin."

It was the most I had ever heard Kinomoto say to me at one time. I had to keep her talking. "Ayame's your cousin?"

"Yeah..." Kinomoto regarded me strangely. "What's it to you?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Not much. I was just wondering what side you're related to her. Ayame and Tomoyo were having a discussion and they found out that they're related to each other both through their mothers' side."

"Oh. Wonder why she didn't tell me." Kinomoto answered vaguely. "I'm related to her through my mom's side too."

We lapsed into an awkward silence, walking side by side on the precarious catwalks above the stage.

"So Kinomoto... why do you hate me so much?" I blurted out without thinking.

"I don't hate you. You're the one who hates me."

* * *

-Sakura-  
-Monday, June 24-

"Are you sure everything is all set?"

I paced back and forth in my rented suite, my mind still fixed on the eerie aura around stage left. Behind me, Ayame watched me like a hawk, patiently waiting for Yukito's verdict.

"Yes Sakura. Every thing's going according to plan."

"What about-"

"No, she's not coming. Toya took care of that."

"And my pings?" I prompted. Still pacing, still not looking at my faithful bodyguard.

I heard him sigh deeply. "Don't you think it's time we took off the surveillance on Daidouji, Hiiragizawa, and Rae? It's been since the end of March and nothing's shown up."

"Yuki, we can't afford to relax our vigilance."

"It doesn't matter. They already know."

Ayame sat up straighter, shocked by the sudden revelation. I continued to pace. So they knew. And they think I don't know that they knew my true identity. No wonder why they treated Sakura Athene and Kinomoto Sakura the same when they came up few weeks back.

"What about Li?"

Yukito hesitated. "He's... curious. Li-san thinks he's onto something but he can never just quite figure it out."

I stopped and Ayame held her breath. "Really now?" I answered vaguely, finally turning around to face him. "Then there's nothing that we can do."

"Sakura-" Ayame protested.

"It's all in his head. I'll make sure that it stays that way." I vowed.

* * *

-Eriol-

I stretched out from my chair and yawned deeply, earning a giggle from Tomoyo.

"Something amuses you?"

Her bright amethyst eyes sparkled in the light. "You look like a well-bred cat. An extremely pampered Cheshire cat." She said, hiding giggles behind one pale hand.

Raising an eyebrow, I said nothing to her and turned back to my work. A shadow fell across my computer and I turned to find Tomoyo draped across the back of my high backed office chair. "I'm so tired of watching these screens." She moaned.

"Yukito-san wanted us to watch for any possible threat concerning Sakura. It's too important to let go, especially during a summer tour." I gently reprimanded her.

"But Eriol, _nothing_ will ping Yukito-san's radar."

A resounding beep echoed across the room.

* * *

-Later-

"So you're sure that's what she's planned?"

Kinomoto Toya scanned the transcription with furrowed brows. "Huh. Yuki, check this out. That bitch thinks she can waltz right into the Dome and assassinate my sister during the concert."

The older man chuckled darkly. "Yeah right. Who on earth would kill a lowly PA during a rising star's concert? Why not the star herself?"

"That's it!" Toya-san cried triumphantly. "It's a feint! Protect 'Sakura' and leave Sakura vulnerable so that the assassin has a clear shot of Sakura on stage."

"That's stupid. 'Sakura' doesn't even exist during the concert." I stated bluntly.

"She doesn't know that." Toya rudely pointed out.

"Does she? Amai Kaorin is a clever person with resources at her disposal. She very well may know and you're falling right into her cleverly planned trap."

The room fell silent.

* * *

-Syaoran-

I walked through the hallways, listening to my iPod. I quickly learned that around Sakura Athene's tour gigs, music was God, second only to Tsukishiro Ayame.

"Hey!" I called out.

The honey auburn head froze for a moment before turning around. "Li-kun." My employer greeted me shortly.

"Where've you been? I haven't seen you in oh... the last forty-five minutes?" I teased her.

She smiled faintly, but it seemed strained. "Well, that's life on the road. Why don't you go back to the hotel? Kinomoto-san and Tsukishiro-san are only hanging around to set up the security parameters."

Falling in step with her, I shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."

Sakura said nothing to me and we walked in an awkward and tense silence towards the main entrance of the Dome. Her silence eerily reminded me of someone else's, someone who I haven't seen since the day we set up in Tokyo Dome weeks ago.

Kinomoto Sakura.

I groaned mentally to myself. Why was I thinking of her? After we passed Kenji-sensei's class, we would never see each other again, much less remain friends. Well, that would have been true if it weren't for our mutual summer job.

"You busy today? Let's hang out at Disneyland." I blurted out in a weak attempt to banish thoughts of Kinomoto from my head.

Emerald eyes hardened and I was once again reminded so vividly of the same look Kinomoto used to give me when I irritated her. "Sorry Li-kun. I have an appointment with Daidouji-san and her entourage in about fifteen minutes back at the hotel. Maybe some other time."

She left me standing in the lobby as she walked out the door. I stared after her, thinking of another green-eyed, honey haired girl that I knew of, one who could never be the kind of person I knew Sakura Athene to be.

Even though I knew rejection when I heard it, I didn't feel too put out by the singer's refusal. She had a valid reason, but it wasn't the whole "prior engagement" thing that was throwing me off. It was the whole feeling of "oh this isn't too unusual to be rejected by this person" I felt as I blankly stared at the empty space where Sakura occupied only moments before.

This would not be the last time.

* * *

-Tomoyo-

I bounced into the hotel, giddy with delight. We, meaning Eriol, Meiling, and I, were going to see Sakura again for costume fitting.

I just knew that she would be too cute for words!

Especially in outfits designed especially for her by _moi_.

"Tomoyo-" Eriol's rich voice cut through my thoughts. "Calm down, you're scaring the other guests in the restaurant."

I stopped walking and turned back around, striding confidently into the hotel's restaurant. "Table for three please. If you would be so kind as to seat us as soon as possible, that would be greatly appreciated. We're on a tight schedule and haven't eaten yet." I spoke to the maître, slipping back into the aristocratic keigo I grew up with.

Eriol followed me, laughter sparkling in his deep sapphire orbs.

"What?" I self-consciously demanded as we took a seat and accepted the menus from a waiter.

"Nothing." He replied, still silently laughing at me through his eyes.

"If you two love birds wouldn't mind-" Meiling snapped, peering up at us behind her menu. "I'm freakin' starving and it's two in the afternoon. I want to eat. Now."

* * *

-Later-

Ridiculously full from lunch, I entered the elevator behind a bellhop pushing trolley full of my designs. "Room 613 please."

"So... designer at sixteen. Quite an accomplishment." Eriol commented, breaking the long silence.

The bellhop looked at us curiously, but manners and his paycheck ruled he keep his mouth shut.

"What of it? Her stuff hasn't hit the shelves yet Eriol. Don't hold your breath yet." Meiling pointed out.

"Such a cynic dear cousin. Not all of us can be famous since two."

"Not all of us can be a jack-ass like you." Meiling replied smartly to Eriol's comment. I laughed as the elevator came to a stop.

Handing him a 200 yen tip, I thanked the bellhop and knocked on the door labeled '613.' Ayame answered the door, her face looking harried and drawn but she attempted a weak smile as she ushered us inside Sakura's suite.

"Go on in. She's expecting you in the small bedroom." Ayame whispered. "My brother called. I have to go take care of some things at the Dome."

Eriol and Meiling nodded, hanging back to talk briefly to Ayame about the concert in three weeks. I walked ahead of them when Meiling waved me on, saying she'd bring in the outfits in a bit.

Opening the door of the smaller bedroom, I poked my head around. "Sakura-san? May I come in?" I said, remembering at the last moment to act like a professional.

She dully waved me in. "Come in then."

I briskly strode inside, shutting the door behind me as I went. "I just need to make sure everything fits right, Sakura-san. This shouldn't take too long if I've done everything correctly."

The singer mutely nodded but refused to meet my eyes. I half-wondered what was plaguing the girl this time, but wisely chose not to ask. Sakura Athene did not know that I knew her secret.

I handed her the first set, a pair of dark denim jeans and a black silkscreen print tank top. She said nothing to me as she took the clothes from my hands and walked into the bathroom to change.

"Alright for you?" She said once she stepped out.

The jeans were much too long on her but the top fit alright. It didn't cling to her the way I thought it would. Had she lost weight?

"It's been a while since I've seen you last. How are you doing? It's great to see you again, even if we're in a professional setting." I rambled on as I pinned her jeans to the correct length around her feet.

Her response prepared me for absolutely nothing as the next six words- the longest phrase she uttered to me since I walked through the door- tore me apart from the inside.

* * *

-Sakura-

"So nice to see you too Tomoyo." I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

The raven-haired girl at my feet froze, before looking up at me in shock. "You know?" She asked me shakily as she stood up to face me.

Snorting at her obvious give away, I answered, "As if your pathetic denial proved otherwise."

Tomoyo's amethyst eyes looked at me curiously. Concern shone from their depths, engulfing me like a tsunami.

I hated her more than anyone else at the moment.

"Sakura-chan," she began. "Are you alright?"

I didn't answer her for a while. In a few quick steps, Tomoyo had thrown her arms around me and let me go. "Sakura-chan..."

"Shut up."

My voice finally returned. "Quit lying to me. Is this kindness all an act? To who? Are you trying to prove to someone that you're kinder than you really are Daidouji Tomoyo? Yourself?"

She faltered. "I don't... I don't understand. Sakura-chan, are you sure you're okay?"

I threw off her hands and walked to the window. "I just wanted to know how long you've known. How long you've been lying to me. How long you've used me."

"It's not like that!"

"Then what is it?" I exploded. "What the hell is going on? I don't need your false sincerity or friendship. What the hell do you want with me?"

The door slammed open, admitting Eriol and Meiling. "What's going on here?" He demanded in a quiet yet fierce whisper.

I whirled around to face them. "Are you in this too? Is this all some elaborate scheme set up by Kaho? She's a shrink you know. She's been serving as mine for years!"

Meiling bristled. "Sakura, what the hell is your problem?"

"What the hell is yours? Does it look like I need to be babysat by hypocrites all the time?" I sneered.

_SMACK!_

I laughed manically, ignoring the stinging sensation Meiling's slap left on my cheek. "Go ahead! Isn't that what you've wanted to do for years?"

"I haven't been around for nine! How could I've wanted something as cruel as that?" Meiling yelled back.

"You just did. You just slapped me. Admit it- it felt too good to release all that pent-up anger." Goading Meiling wasn't the best idea but I didn't care. I was too emotionally drained to care about anything at the moment.

"I'm going to make you see truth Kinomoto Sakura! Don't talk shit when you don't even know half of the truth!"

She came at me, my best friend Rae Meiling charged towards me with every intent to carry out her threat. At the last moment, Eriol caught her around the middle and dragged her away from me. "Meiling- quit it. Can't you see that arguing isn't going to do us any good?"

"Eriol! Did you hear her? Did you hear what she sa-"

Sapphire blue flashed. "Stop it. We're all tired, we're all exhausted, we're all just so emotionally drained to give a damn about what we're saying. None of us are thinking straight. Knock it off."

Tomoyo's quiet sobs broke me from my angry trance. It must have done the same for Meiling and Eriol, because Meiling broke down herself and Eriol was by Tomoyo's side in a heartbeat. The last few minutes came rushing back to me and I looked at the three across the room from me in horror.

"Oh my God..." I whispered brokenly before sinking down to the floor.

"Sakura, it's not your fault." Eriol tried to explain.

I didn't bother waiting to hear the rest of his explanations. The sight of Tomoyo- kind, sweet, caring Tomoyo- crying so openly on the floor before me was enough.

I ran.

What demons have we become?

* * *

-Meiling-  
-Days Later-

"Can I talk to you for a sec Meiling?"

I looked up to see the tall and imposing figure of Kinomoto Toya. Nodding my head, I followed him to the security room in the Dome.

"We investigated the ping and our reports indicate that Kaorin may strike either the day before or the day of the tour's opening night. I hate to ask this of you..."

"You want me to keep an eye out for Sakura right?" I interrupted him.

"Yeah. Too much for you?" Toya challenged, reminding me of my younger years.

"Not at all. I'm a black belt in tae-kwon-do and kung-fu you know. Li family requirement." I answered smugly.

"Good. I pray that'll be enough. Speaking of which, how is she? I haven't been able to talk to her or see her since the ping."

I hesitated. Should I tell him? Do I reveal to Kinomoto Toya, the most overprotective older brother on the face of planet Earth, that his little sister was currently in the midst of the biggest breakdown she's had in years?

"She's... tired." I simply replied.

For days after her explosion, Sakura kept to her room, lying on her bed or staring out the window in a cold silence. She hardly ate anything and Ayame kept inquisitive crew members at bay saying her PA took ill and their employer went on a trip exploring Tokyo incognito. It worked for the most part, until Syaoran came up to talk to Ayame about something concerning the set and found a despondent Kinomoto Sakura instead.

Ayame was all too eager to assign the latest addition to her crew of slaves the task of taking care of her "sick" cousin. I swear I saw Sakura snap out of her depression for a moment, plotting one hundred and one ways to kill Ayame oh-so-very-slowly and painfully, but the moment passed and she turned to face the windows instead.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was determined to make Sakura well again. What they talked about in the three days he began to watch her out of the five days Sakura had taken ill I had no idea about. But it seemed like she was on the mend and that's all that mattered.

For all of us.

"Tired." Toya said shortly. "I see."

"I think she knew about the ping. Something's been bugging her." I tried to explain myself.

His radio buzzed and Yukito muttered something about fifteen cubes waiting for Toya's signature at the harbor. The older man bade me goodbye but as he turned to leave, he paused for a moment before adding to me:

"Meiling- whatever you do, don't mention Kaorin to her. She's already burdened as it is."

I already knew that fool, I silently retorted after his retreating figure.

* * *

-Sakura-

I really hate Ayame more than anything in the entire world.

I really hate Li for taking up this stupid job.

But I really hate myself for mentioning it to him in the first place.

In my defense, I didn't think he'd actually go through with it. There must be something he wants if he's willing to abandon his summer of partying for a hard job on tour.

Well, it's not something, but someone.

I knew all about his summers. Hell, the entire junior class at Seijuu knew. Half the class participated with him on those wild summer night escapades to exotic beaches and resorts around Japan.

Stupid rich kids.

Stupid Ayame.

Stupid Li.

Stupid me.

* * *

-Syaoran-

"Sakura!" Ayame sang as she entered the room. "Look who's here to visit you!"

She said nothing, still deep in thought. I wondered what she thought about most of the time.

"Ayame- I'll take it from here. Go do whatever you have to do." I muttered as I strode over to my usual spot beside the bed.

Once the door had clicked shut behind my employer, I turned to face Kinomoto Sakura, nestled deep within her blankets.

"Hiding again?" I ripped the blankets away from her body. Emerald-green eyes hardened into a deadly glare but her rosy pink lips said nothing.

I climbed out of my seat and instead perched next to her prone body on the bed. "Sakura..."

I know that everyone else thinks that my presence had a healing effect on Sakura and that she's getting better but I knew otherwise. I don't know how, but I just did. Perhaps being at the receiving end of her more volatile moods and experiencing her calmer ones myself made me more inclined to understand her temperament in a way that others didn't.

She wasn't getting better and she wasn't getting worse. Conversation still irritated her but my presence lost its irritating effect on her.

Well, she was getting used to me?

* * *

-Sakura-

My thoughts took a darker turn. Kaorin. Amai Kaorin, why must you torture me so?

If I was anyone else, I would have assumed it was because you were a jealous lesbian lover who when mad when you found out I was straight.

But that oddity aside, I know the reason why.

I'm everything that you could never be and hope to be.

No one knows the whole story. Not even my father or my brother. It's only me, her, and Okaa-san in heaven.

And yet…

"Sakura… you can't keep running away."

Am I running away?

Who told you to call me Sakura?

A smooth voice broke me away from my thoughts. I recognized the melody, hummed in Li's rich tenor.

_And it's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh, oh, open wide  
'Cause this is your night  
So... smile  
'Cause you'll go out in style_

That song… the only song I wrote for myself…

… to myself.

How long could I keep up this façade? I struggled and triumphed these last few years but nothing, _nothing_ has ever weighed so heavily on my mind than these last four months.

I shuddered deeply, suddenly remembering the unnerving darkness of stage left.

* * *

-Syaoran-

Her face changed.

No doubt she was thinking about something dark.

I unconsciously hummed the tune to the song I heard while in the sound booth. She seemed to recognize it and fill in the gaps with the correct words, their meaning dawning on her in some enigmatic fashion or another.

I lay down on the bed beside her. "Let's do something."

As I expected, she didn't respond but she didn't shove me off her rather soft and comfortably warm bed either. We lay there side by side, staring at the texture on the ceiling's plaster.

I began to speak aloud, mostly to myself. "I wonder what life would be like if I didn't screw up those precious first weeks we met. Do you remember that? I remember thinking why you didn't blush when I walked into that silent classroom."

No response. Undaunted, I continued on. "Actually, the first time we met was in gym. Soccer. The only game I ever lost outside of competitive league. You stunned me with your skill. When I tried asking you about it, you blew me off, much like you do today…"

"So much crap happened." I blew a stray hair away from my face. "I treated you horribly because of a bunch of rumors I heard from the people who I thought were my friends. I never said this, but thanks. To you, Kenji-sensei, and the rest of the group. You guys made me realize they weren't my friends at all, just ornaments."

"You getting sick and ending up in my apartment. You leading me to this job. God, you've done so much for me without realizing it Sakura."

I was rambling at this point. I didn't even realize I said half the stuff that came out of my mouth until I said it. Like the thing with her name. When did Kinomoto become Sakura in my mind?

"I wish we could start over. Like the past four months didn't happen. A clean start. Would it be fair to you or to me to do so? To try and befriend you already knowing the kind of person you are?"

She stared listlessly at the ceiling.

"I want to know more about you. You are the biggest mystery I've ever come across." I admitted, turning onto my side to face her. "Would there ever come a time when you could trust me enough to do so?"

Such a philosopher I am today.

"Li-" The quiet voice finally said. The first words she had spoken to me since I started "babysitting" her three days ago. "Shut the hell up."

And she started crying.

* * *

-Sakura-

The dam burst, in front of _him_ of all people. Tomoyo, Meiling, Eriol, Nii-san, Yuki, Ayame, Kaho, Nakuru, Otou-san, all them I could handle and reasonably cry in front of but _him_?

Not Li Syaoran of all people.

Nothing I said made sense. Li could've passed it off as temporary insanity but a part of me secretly hoped that he paid attention and listened.

"She's always there." I shuddered through tears. "Waiting for a chance to strike. Claiming her throne, the nobodies throne. Why would she want such a throne?"

"Not for her, for him. For him, she would kill. For him, she would abuse on the only person who took an orphaned ugly duckling under her wing. Mistake, mistake. Why not Jade?"

"He would never look at her twice. Reigning king and hated queen. The Queen of Hearts, coming to slice your head off. Be careful of the Queen of Hearts!"

"There's something about the stage. Left, left, left, left- like something's waiting to pounce. He's there- I know it! She sent him there to wait for weeks and weeks. Waiting, always waiting."

"But pain- pain! How foolish could I've been? To trust a wily snake… Oh God… don't hurt me! Get away Masahiro! Nii-san! NII-SAN!"

A pair of hands roughly pulled me into a sitting position and Li looked at me fiercely in the eyes. "Get a grip Sakura!"

The tears wouldn't stop falling and I continued. "You betrayed me! You sold me out to the Devil!" I shrieked. "I did everything for you! You couldn't repay me after all these wasted years?"

He pulled me into a tight embrace, not letting me go no matter how much I fought against his hold. Li's voice floated into my ear, the vibrations of his throat pulsing gently against my temple.

"Stop it. You're okay. You're not in Tomoeda anymore- you're in Tokyo, far away enough from Amai Masahiro."

Li let me go to study my face. I looked back at him through watery eyes, before launching myself at him and openly sobbing into his shoulder. Wrapping his arms around me again, Li muttered "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay" in a low mantra against my temple.

And I foolishly- _foolishly_- believed him.

* * *

-Syaoran-  
-July 15-  
-Fallen Sakura Opening Night-

Kinomoto and Tsukishiro subjected us to a series of security checkpoints the days before opening night. This continued well into tonight, the first concert of the 'Fallen Sakura' tour.

While Sakura Athene sat in her dressing room getting dressed, Kinomoto Sakura and I stood outside the door, conducting final sound checks.

My walkie-talkie buzzed. I ran off to stage left to fix some tangled cables. When I returned, Sakura Athene was coming out of her dressing room. She smiled at me, but her gaze was veiled with something akin to anxiety.

"You'll do fine and amaze us like always." I told her with a smile.

"Thanks Li-kun." She whispered before taking her place on the moving platform.

I watched her rise towards the stage and the sound of cheering, roaring crowds told me it was time to get to work.

At half-time, Sakura came backstage again, clutching her head and stumbling slightly. She told Ayame to hold off the second half for as long as possible. Worried, my employer followed her to her dressing room after hissing some last minute emergency instructions to the band.

"What's going on?" Tomoyo's voice came from behind me. She and Eriol were on their way out the door to go back to the hotel. "Did something happen?"

Eriol told her in a hurried whisper that Sakura had suddenly taken ill when she stepped off stage. The dressing room door suddenly opened, admitting an anxious Ayame. Upon seeing Tomoyo, the girl seized her hands and said, "Can you cover for us for fifteen minutes or so? We need some sort of musical act and distraction until we get things sorted out back here."

"Is Sakura okay?" Meiling demanded.

"She'll be fine after she takes some meds. Sudden migraine, extremely unusual for her to get in the midst of a concert." Ayame explained. "Better yet, the stage is big enough Meiling. Can you do some floor routine while Tomoyo sings one of Sakura's songs? Pick something you know and tell me. I'll announce it as a special act from the crew before Sakura comes back on."

The two girls nodded. I stepped forward. "Are you sure she's okay? Can I do something?" I demanded.

"She's fine Li, it won't be necessary. Hiiragizawa, sit with her for a minute. Your dad's a doctor, you know what to do."

Eriol entered the room and it locked behind him. I stared at the steel door. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"Positive." Ayame said before rushing off.

* * *

-Eriol-

Entering the dressing room, I found Sakura curled up into a ball on the couch. "Hey- you okay?" I asked her, taking a seat next to her and rubbing her back gently.

"Eriol- I feel so weak. My head's killing me." She moaned.

I began my diagnosis. So far, nothing unusual happened. She drank plenty of water, ate regular amounts of food, nerves were functioning normally pre-concert. I couldn't figure out what was causing her migraine.

"Hold on- Ayame's bringing you medicine." I soothed.

"It won't do any good." She snapped. "I can hardly move. It feels like every part of me is screaming from over-exertion. I don't understand it. It wasn't like I was doing one of gymnastics routines onstage."

"My head's pounding, as if there's something in my skull struggling to get out, clawing its way past tissue, fluid, and blood."

The sound of falling feet and Tomoyo's smooth voice echoed through the room's speakers. Tomoyo and Meiling were doing a good job stalling. The crowd loved the "crew" acts and cheered louder, calling for an encore. The two girls obliged, for fifteen minutes hadn't past yet.

The door unlocked and Ayame burst in holding a glass of water and a bottle of pills. Locking the door behind her, Ayame rushed over to her cousin and held out two pills and the glass. "Toya says you have to take this."

She swallowed without complaint and tried to stand up. I caught her as she fell over.

"What in Hecate-" Ayame asked, bewildered by Sakura's sudden fall.

"I can hardly move. It gets a little better with time but I get the feeling it won't wear off enough to function onstage for a few hours." She explained.

"You mean-"

"Yeah. Switch."

Switch? What in the Devil's name did that mean? I wondered to myself.

To my amazement, Ayame pulled open a locked drawer and took out a short honey auburn wig and a contacts case.

You don't mean to say…

So that's how they pulled off this charade for years. And that also explains the incredibly small amount of backstage hands for a tour as big as this one. I noticed when we first visited that Ayame seemed to know everyone fairly well outside of the working hours.

No one would question it. It also explained Yukito's double role as a bodyguard and sound engineer. He could secretly monitor and control a tape of Sakura's actual voice pre-recorded in studios for moments like these. At the same time, he could jump to Sakura's defense from his third row sound booth.

I turned my back as Ayame changed into one of Sakura's outfits. No wonder why they had Tomoyo create extra pieces for Ayame. It wasn't just for fanaticism- it served a practical purpose too.

Sakura managed to help pin Ayame's dark hair flat against her skull and situate the wig on her head. The manager put the contacts on quickly and helped Sakura out of her clothes and into the ones she was wearing earlier.

"You going to be okay?" Ayame whispered as she removed the makeup from her cousin's face.

"As long as I stay at your booth in stage left in a chair, I think I'll be fine."

"Syaoran will be there." I mentioned. "He's monitoring the lights back there right now."

"Good." Ayame stood up and I was amazed with the transformation. She looked uncannily like Sakura Athene from up close- it would be impossible to tell from front row.

Impossible…

* * *

-Syaoran-

Eriol and Tomoyo finally left for the hotel after my cousin escorted an extremely pale Kinomoto Sakura to Ayame's booth nearby my station.

"She okay?" I asked Eriol.

"Headache and mild stomach cramps." He dismissed. "Ayame stepped out and sent her PA to watch things."

Once he left, I turned to Kinomoto. "You okay?"

She didn't answer; I suppose that was a good sign. I didn't know how to handle a hysterical Kinomoto- last week proved just as much.

"God, it seems like every one is getting sick around here." I casually mentioned.

"Whatever Li." She muttered, her voice muffled from her head lying on the table.

The concert started back up again. Ayame was right- Sakura Athene would've been fine after a few minutes and meds. She was as genki as ever.

As the music continued on, the lights in our wing began to flicker. "Kinomoto- is that normal?"

"Obviously not. Go fix it. That's your job."

I frowned and stared up at the flickering lights. "Come with me. I can't leave a sick person by herself. What if you pass out?"

"What if I pass out on the catwalks? How the hell are you going to get me down?" She retorted back, sounding like more herself for the first time in days.

The cables overhead creaked ominously. "Kinomoto- just go with me." I pleaded.

We started to climb the stairs as the next song began to play. I recognized the tune and the associated memories distracted me from the eerie flickering lights.

_I'm sitting in a room  
Made up of only big white walls  
And in the halls there are  
People looking through  
The window in the door  
They know exactly what we're here for  
Don't look up, just let them think  
There's no place else you'd rather be  
You're always on display  
For everyone to watch and learn from  
Don't you know by now  
You can't turn back  
Because this road is all you'll ever have_

As we reached the top landing, I ushered Kinomoto in front of me. She made no complaint but I could _feel_ her obvious pain from her migraine.

Wait- migraine? Where did that come from?

_And it's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh, oh, open wide  
'Cause this is your night  
So... smile  
'Cause you'll go out in style_

"Li- did you bring up and use the tools earlier? There're all over the walkway." She asked me.

I looked down at my feet, suddenly aware of the metal bumps underneath my shoes. "I haven't been up here since we arrived."

The feeling in my stomach tightened.

_You'll go out in style_

Before me, Kinomoto slipped and started to fall backwards, but I caught her in time. "You okay?" I whispered as I righted her.

"Yeah. Just can't focus on anything." She answered shakily.

It struck me odd, because Kinomoto Sakura _never_ shakes. She's always cool and confident no matter what.

_If you let me, I could  
I'd show you how to build your fences  
Set restrictions, separate from the world  
The constant battle that you hate to fight  
Just blame the limelight  
Don't look up, just let them think  
There's no place else you'd rather be  
And now, you can't turn back  
Because this road is all you'll ever have_

The cables around us creaked out of sync with the bass. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I glanced over my shoulder, paranoia creeping in.

"Keep close 'kay? It's too creepy up here." I brought her closer.

She slapped my hand away. "I'm _fine_. I'm not helpless or scared of the dark."

I kept an eye on her anyways.

_And it's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh, oh, open wide  
'Cause this is your night  
So... smile_

I found the malfunctioning wires easily enough. They were located above center stage. No doubt one of the lighting technicians noticed the lights and set off a distraction for the audience.

Kinomoto stood off to the side, aloof as always. She kept glancing around at the darkness around us as I bent over to fix the wires.

The lights stopped flickering above center stage.

I tugged on her hand. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

_Yeah, yeah, you're asking for it  
With every breath that you breathe in,  
Just breathe it in  
Yeah, yeah, well you're just a mess  
You do all this big talking  
So now let's see you walk it  
I said let's see you walk it_

We stopped every so often to pick up the scattered tools. I cursed whoever had been up here last for their carelessness. Even though we could see Sakura Athene and the band below our feet, we moved quietly and the journey back seemed to take forever.

The cables creaked around us, causing Kinomoto to jump. "What the hell was that?" She whispered.

I dumped the tools back into the toolbox towards the end of the catwalk. "Nothing. You're just over-reacting." I told her nonchalant.

_Yeah, yeah, you're asking for it  
With every breath that you breathe in,  
Just breathe it in  
Yeah, yeah, well you're just a mess  
You do all this big talking  
So now let's see you walk it  
I said let's see you walk it_

Her face contorted into a mask of anxious fury. "I'm telling you Li- there's something up here besides us!"

"Are you scared?" I teased her. I was never going to let her live this down. Not for as long as we both lived.

"No Li I'm not!"

The lights suddenly went dark.

_It's obvious that you're dying, dying  
Just living proof that the camera's lying  
And oh oh open wide_

I blindly reached in front of me. "Kinomoto?"

"Kinomoto- where the hell did you go?"

"Li." Her terrified voice answered back. "I'm still here."

_Yeah oh oh open wide_

"Stay still." I instructed. "I can't be no more than ten feet away from you. With your migraine, you could accidentally fall off the catwalk in your klutziness."

_Yeah oh oh open wide_

The lights flickered back on. Below me, I could hear the bewildered whispers of the audience as the lights in Tokyo Dome flickered on and off. The music continued to play.

I saw Kinomoto standing ten feet in front of me, terrified beyond belief. I couldn't figure out how she had gotten so far away from me when she was beside me only moments before. The only one of us who had moved was me.

The stage darkened again. "Li." She called more urgently. "Hurry up so we can get outta here!"

The lights came back on and I was five strides from being by her side. "I'm here. C'mon Kinomoto."

_'Cause you'll go out in style_

The cables creaked around us ominously. Throughout the auditorium and the stage, the lights kept flickering, on and off, on and off. She was frozen in place, terrified by something around us that I couldn't see.

"Let's go." I said impatiently, tugging on her hand when she didn't move.

Lights on.

"Kinomoto, I don't want to play these stupid games." I warned her as she stood rooted to the same spot.

Lights off.

I started walking away from her and prepared to go down the stairs. "Fine. If you want to stay up here, I'm leaving you."

On.

But then her piercing scream filled the air and Kinomoto Sakura disappeared into the darkness.

"_SAKURA!_"

_You'll go out in style._

Off.

* * *

Explaination for Puns:

No I'm not a homophobe. I don't have anything against homosexuals either. Half of my friends are either bisexual or adore yaoi to death. I grew up with this kind of accepting environment of all people. After all, the original CardCaptor Sakura manga was all about the sincerity and purity of love, no matter who it is you've fallen in love with.

In all seriousness, the thing about Yukito being bi was an allusion to the CCS manga where he's actually gay. The thing where Sakura's talking about Kaorin being jealous lesbian lover was actually inspired by an Ask Amy article in my city's local paper about a homosexual man falling in love with a heterosexual man. The straight guy kept playing mind games with the gay man, doing all sorts of cruel things such as insinuating he has deeper feelings for the other, offering his apartment as a home, sharing bank accounts, cars, etc. The homosexual gave up his entire life for this other guy, his so-called best friend and love, and received nothing but cruelty in return. It struck me as being similar to what I was trying to portray in _Fallen Through_, but in today's overly-sensitive and politcally-correct society, I feared I may have offended someone. So I'm sincerely sorry if I offended anyone with homosexual puns. Please accept my humblest apologies.

Yeah, this just occurred to me about an hour after I posted the final chapter.

* * *

Author's Note:

Yes, it's the end. Four long years of agony finally over.

_Yeah right_.

But seriously, I appreciate and cherish each of those years. They've been some of the most difficult of my life and I think I've changed a lot since I first penned _Fallen Through_in the girly-est journal I own on December 31, 2004. I know I've expressed a part of those years in this project and I hope that my readers can pick up on its subtle influence. I started this story full of ideas and had no real intention of going anywhere with this.

It's a drastic change from the first chapter. I went back and edited things I didn't like, things I wrote in my naïveté as a young writer. Hope the old- as well as the new- readers like the edits. As time progresses, I'll be fixing little things such as typos and grammar errors, so don't be alarmed if it pops up in your inbox from time to time.

Many thanks to **–Kori Kage Tenshi-**(formerly known as FlowerLover) for her assistance and feedback during the early years. I'll miss hearing from you Hana. Also, infinite amounts of gratitude to **Jiade-03** for her _extremely_blunt critique of this chapter's first draft and her invaluable advice. Jayde, I hope you've enjoyed this last one and that it met (and hopefully went beyond but I'm not holding my breath!) your expectations.

_Fallen Through_ began as I was closing one chapter of my life and beginning another. It ends on the same note. I'm closing these teenage angst-riddled years and beginning another chapter- one, I pray, will be brighter than the previous. But, knowing my luck, they'll be just as dark.

Thank you for traveling with me all throughout these last four years readers and reviewers. I can only hope that you'll stay for the next chapter of my life as I share it with you.

_Fallen Through: Mad World_

All the best and ja ne.

Callista Miralni


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